Stag and Doe: Jily Soul-bond
by one.of.those.weasley.kids
Summary: "Are you starting Hogwarts?" His voice pulled her out of her gaze at the bird and she nodded again. "Do you speak?" She nodded again and then let out a small laugh. He laughed too before running through a hand through his already messy hair. "Sorry, I must be scaring you. I'm James, James Potter." He stuck out his hand and she shyly shook it. "Lily, Lily Evans." - Chapter 1
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to J.K. Rowling (the Queen). The plot and idea is mine.

Please read and review!

* * *

On January 30, 1960, a baby girl was born to a family of muggles, Lily Jane Evans. A few months later, a baby boy was born on March 27 to the Potter's, James Fleamont Potter. Not far away in Wizarding London, a book sat, neglected in the Ministry. This book was not any ordinary book. It recorded the most rare of things and today it recorded something that had not happened for a couple centuries.

 _March 27, 1960: On this date Mr. James Fleamont Potter was soulbonded to Ms. Lily Jane Evans._

* * *

 **Eleven Years Later:**

It was a peaceful morning in the Evans house. Mrs. Evans was up and making breakfast wondering if she should go and wake up the girls. Mr. Evans was sitting in the living room reading the morning paper wondering what Mrs. Evans was making for breakfast. The eldest Evans daughter, Petunia, was sleeping soundly in her bedroom dreaming of what it would be like to have everything in her life absolutely perfect. The youngest Evans, Lily, was up and wondering what this new year in her life would bring. It wasn't everyday that you turned eleven.

A few minutes later, Lily could hear her mother climbing up the stairs to wake up her and Petunia. Giggling to herself, she pretended to be asleep, snuggling down under her quilts and closing her eyes as her mother opened the door.

"Good morning, Silly Lily." Her mother spoke softly as she walked over to her supposedly sleeping daughter. Sitting down on the edge of her bed, Mrs. Evans reached out a hand and began to tickle Lily. Within seconds Lily was screaming with laughter and trying her hardest to escape from her mother.

"Mom! Stop! I'm awake!" Lily was trying desperately to wiggle her way out of her mom's grasp, but found herself unable to. Mrs. Evans just laughed and continued to tickle her despite her pleas to stop. "If you're awake, Silly Lily, then why were you pretending to sleep when I walked in. Huh?" Mrs. Evans stopped tickling Lily to give her a light kiss on the forehead.

"Happy Birthday, Lily." Lily, still giggling, reached up to give her mother a hug as her mother began to tickle her sides again. Soon both Lily and Mrs. Evans were laughing and failed to notice the two figures standing in the doorway to Lily's room. It wasn't until Mr. Evans crept up behind Mrs. Evans and began to tickle her that they realized that he and Petunia were standing there.

Once the commotion had calmed down and everyone was breathing normally, Mr. Evans went over to Lily and picked her up out of her bed spinning her around her room. Lily soon began screaming with delight as her father swung her around and around. "Happy Birthday my Giggly Lily!" He stopped spinning her to give her a kiss on her forehead and then set her down. Everyone laughed as Lily toppled over slightly, still dizzy from being spun around. It was then Petunia's turn for greetings and she quickly ran over and gave Lily a hug.

"Happy Birthday Lillies!" Lily hugged Petunia back with so much force that Petunia shrieked with surprise. "Lily!" Soon Lily and Petunia were giggling and chasing each other around Lily's room in attempt to squeeze each other with hugs. Their parents sat on Lily's bed watching for awhile and then announced that if they wanted a warm breakfast they should go downstairs. Still giggling, the girls rushed down the stairs to the kitchen where a special birthday breakfast awaited Lily.

Every birthday in the Evans house meant pancakes with syrup, fruit and whipped cream and every year the Evans birthday tradition turned into a food fight between Lily and Petunia. Within a couple of minutes, Lily and Petunia were throwing small berries covered in whipped cream at each other. Neither of them were very good at throwing so the berries ended up landing on the center of the table with a few hitting their opponents plate and even fewer actually hitting their opponent.

The birthday food fight hadn't been going for very long when there was a knock at the door. Lily and Petunia quit throwing food and immediately glanced at their parents who glanced at each other, just as confused.

"George, why don't you go and answer the door while the girls and I clean things up." Mrs. Evans looked from her husband who began to head to the door to her daughters who had begun to clean off the table. The cleaning didn't take that long because Mrs. Evans had been prepared. These birthday food fights had been happening for so long that on every birthday she would cover the table in a plastic tablecloth that would be thrown away at the end of every meal. The girls would clear off the plates, taking them to the sink as their mother took the dishes. Mrs. Evans would then clean the plates and dishes, putting all the leftover food in containers. The girls would fold up the tablecloth and throw it away and then cleaning would be done.

While the girls and Mrs. Evans were cleaning up, Mr. Evans had gone to answer the door. Opening it, he found a stern, older woman dressed in emerald green robes with a matching pointed hat. Her hair was swept back into a tight bun at the nape of her neck and on the bridge of her nose rested a pair of square glasses. At first Mr. Evans could do nothing, but stare at the strange woman, but he eventually gathered himself together to say a few words.

"Hello. Can I help you?" The older woman immediately nodded and took out a small envelope. On the back was a red seal with the image of castle. Surrounding it were the words, _Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry._ On the front of the envelope was the most peculiar address.

 _ **To Ms. Lily Jane Evans**_

 _ **Cokeworth, England**_

 _ **First bedroom to the left, second floor**_

Mr. Evans stared at this most peculiar address for quite some time before the stern older woman cleared her throat.

"Excuse me, sir. I am Professor Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Am I correct in assuming you are Ms. Lily Jane Evans' father?" Mr. Evans looked back up at Professor McGonagall and gave a small, curt nod. "Wonderful. Now, is Ms. Lily Evans here at the moment?" Mr. Evans responded with the same nod, completely dumbfounded. "Would it be possible for me to talk with her as well as you, your wife and her sister? There is much to be discussed." Mr. Evans nodded again and motioned for her to come inside. After closing the door, he lead her to the living room and then left to get his wife and the girls.

"Lily, there is someone her to talk to you and, well, the rest of us about some school." Mr. Evans handed Lily the peculiar envelope and then walked back out to the living room with the rest of them following. Mr and Mrs Evans sat on the couch with Petunia, while Lily sat in the chair across from Professor McGonagall. Lily didn't speak at first because she much too interested in the woman sitting across the way from her. She had never seen an outfit like it and thought it most peculiar. Her mother and Petunia were also very curious and wondered about this strange woman.

"You must be Lily." The older lady smiled kindly towards Lily who nodded as she shrunk back into her chair. Petunia huddled closer to her mother as she had become very afraid of this woman.

"I am Professor McGonagall. Deputy Headmistress at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, one of the finest wizarding schools in the world." Lily looked at Professor McGonagall with even more curiosity. "Hogwarts? I've never heard of that school and what exactly does this have to do with me?" Professor McGonagall adjusted herself in her seat before speaking.

"Ms. Lily Evans. Hogwarts is a school that educates witches and wizards, helping them learn to control their magic and allowing them to reach their full magical potential. Hogwarts only accepts students with magical abilities and you are one of them. If you had no magical abilities, Hogwarts would have not contacted you and therefore you would have never known about the school." Professor McGonagall paused to look at Lily who was regarding her with much confusion and suspicion. "How do you know that I have these magical abilities and that I belong at Hogwarts?" Lily was very confused and couldn't wrap her head around what was happening.

"My dear, Hogwarts has known that you were a witch from the day you were born and if you need further evidence, let me ask you this. Have you ever done something that you absolutely could not explain?" Professor McGonagall let her words sink in as Lily thought. Yes, she had. All those times when Petunia and her would play with their toy horses and they would somehow begin to fly and canter around the room. Those times when those ucky peas disappeared from plate when she didn't want to eat them. Everything was starting to make sense. Slowly, Lily turned her attention back to Professor McGonagall and nodded.

"So because I was able to make all sorts of things happen with no explanation, I'm a witch?" Professor McGonagall nodded. "And because I'm a witch, I have been accepted into Hogwarts, a school for people like me, which will help me?" Professor McGonagall nodded again. "What exactly will I be doing at Hogwarts?" Professor McGonagall pointed to her letter.

"That letter holds some answers to that question, but I have a feeling you will be needing some examples." With this she pulled out her wand and a simple sock. Lily was immediately interested and leaned forward to get a better look. Her parent's looked slightly afraid, but were also intrigued by what Professor McGonagall was about to do. Petunia however was completely frightened and burrowed herself further into her mother as to get away from whatever Professor McGonagall was doing. Before Professor McGonagall did anything though, she explained to Lily what her classes would be in her first year.

"In your first year, your classes will include Potions, Transfiguration, Herbology, Astronomy, Defense Against the Dark Arts, History of Magic, Charms, and you will also have a classes instructing you on how to fly a broomstick. Potions is where you will be combining ingredients to create products that could help someone heal faster, enable you to turn into another person, and much more. Transfiguration is taking one object and making it into another, like this." Wish a swish and loop of her wand, Professor McGonagall transfigured the sock into a small vase and then back. "Herbology is where you will study magical plants and their abilities. Astronomy is the study of the heavens. Defense Against the Dark Arts works with the darker side of magic and is about protecting yourself. History of Magic is about the history of magic, self-explanatory. Charms is where you learn spells that could be used in duels, everyday tasks, or in future jobs. For example, the Cheering Charm would make a person happy. The flying classes will teach you how to fly on a broomstick and are only during the first term. Questions?" Professor McGonagall looked over at Lily and her family while putting away her wand and the sock. Lily was so excited, nervous, curious, overwhelmed. There were so many questions about this and that she wasn't sure where to begin. Her family on the other hand was looking at her with curiosity and wonder.

"I suggest that you take a look at the letter Ms. Evans before you ask any questions." Lily nodded and looked down at her letter.

 _Ms. Lily Jane Evans,_

 _Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is most pleased to say that you have been accepted. Term starts on September 1st and your response as to whether or not you shall be attending is requested no later than August 1st. The following pages include your supply lists for your first year as well as your ticket to come to Hogwarts. We anticipate your decision._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Professor Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress_

Looking at the following pages, Lily found her school supply list as well as her ticket. Quickly scanning the list, Lily was immediately curious as to where she would be getting her supplies.

"Professor, where am I going to get all of these supplies? I haven't seen any stores that sell wands, cauldrons, or books like these." Professor McGonagall smiled at Lily. "All of your supplies can be bought in Diagon Alley, a wizarding shopping center. In two months time, myself or another professor at Hogwarts will help you get your supplies, that is if you accept our invitation to go to Hogwarts." Professor McGonagall looked from Lily to her family and back. "I suggest that you and your parents should talk about this LIly, but I will let you know that this is the only school in the United Kingdom that will allow you to learn the arts of witchcraft and wizardry. When you have made your decision, send your response back with the owl that brought you your letter. Now, I'm so sorry to rush off, but I have to meet with some other students. Good day Evans' family, I trust that I shall be seeing you soon Lily." With that McGonagall left and Lily began to excitedly read through her letter again.

"Isn't it exciting mum and dad? Me, a witch." Lily's parents looked at each other and then smiled at her. "Yes, sweetie, it is."

And from that moment on, Lily marked down on her calendar the days until she got her school supplies and the days until term started. Her parents were worried, but proud and Petunia? Well she was scared out of her wits and would have nothing to do with Lily for the rest of the summer.

* * *

 _ **A few months late, across England in the Potter's Manor...**_

James Potter came rushing down the stairs into the kitchen the morning of March 27. His parents were both sitting in the kitchen with their morning pumpkin juice. His father was reading the paper while his mother was discussing the plans for the day with the family house elf, Bitzy. They both looked up as James bounded in and smiled.

"Well look who decided to wake up finally." His mother smiled and walked over to him giving him a hug. "Happy Birthday sweetheart." James snuggled into his mother's hug and breathed in her warm, familiar scent of vanilla. "What are we going to do about your hair?" His mother reached up a hand and began to unsuccessfully try and tame it. James and his father began to laugh at her failed attempts. "Mom, stop! It never will be tamed." This caused his parents to laugh as he began to wiggle and squirm out of his mother's grasp.

He immediately began to scan the table. "Did it come, Dad? Did it come?" He began to jump up and down around the table as his dad slowly put down his paper, laughing. "Not yet son, but knowing Dumbledore, it will be here as soon as you finish your breakfast." James gave a sigh of defeat and sat in his chair. He began to scoop eggs, bacon, sausage, and pancakes onto his plate as his mother looked on with wide eyes. "Goodness, James. You're not going to eat all of that are you?" His father began to laugh as he looked at the piles on James' plate. "Nonsense Euphemia, he's a growing boy. He needs his food." He began to laugh again as he reached over and ruffled James' hair before going back to his paper.

There was a few minutes of silence in the Potter's as Mr. Potter continued to read his paper, Mrs. Potter replied to letters and James tore through his pile of food. After a few minutes, Mr. Potter set down his paper with a sigh causing Mrs. Potter and James to look over at him. "What it is Fleamont?" Mrs. Potter looked worriedly at her husband while James continued to eat his food and stare at his parents. "Another attack on muggles. That's the third one this month and he is becoming more violent about it." James knew that he referred to Voldemort, the Dark Lord who had been steadily growing stronger the past few years.

"Fleamont, I thought I told you we weren't going to discuss this in front of James." Mrs. Potter looked at her husband and then motioned to James to tell him to stop. "Honey, he's going to find out sooner or later and I would rather he found out through us than some kid at school who doesn't know what he is talking about. Besides, Dumbledore will probably mention something about him during the welcoming feast." Mrs. Potter gave an exasperated glare to her husband and then sighed with defeat. "I know he will Fleamont, but I don't want James to be frightened about going to school or doing anything. He deserves a happy life for a while and that's hard having parents that are constantly gone on this mission or that mission. He is still a child, for Merlin's sake, Fleamont!" James was looking from his mother to his father and back while still putting food in his mouth.

"Ummm, Mum? Dad? You know I'm sitting right here, right?" Mrs. Potter stopped her rant and looked over at her son. "Yes, James, and please do not talk with your mouth full of food. It is repulsive." Turning back to her husband, Mrs. Potter shook her head and muttered something along the lines of 'I wanted a daughter'. Mr. Potter began to laugh as James faked dejection. Mrs. Potter just shook her head and returned to her letters and Bitzy cleared off the table. "Young Mister Potter is having a letter for him." Bitzy returned from the kitchen holding a letter and gave it to James. His parents both stopped what they were doing to watch him open it up.

The front of the letter read

 **To Mister James Fleamont Potter**

 **Potter Manor, England, United Kingdom**

 **2nd bedroom to the left, 2nd story**

With shaky hands James opened the envelope and pulled out the letter's inside.

 _To Mister James Fleamont Potter,_

 _Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is most pleased to say that you have been accepted. Term starts on September 1st and your response as to whether or not you shall be attending is requested no later than August 1st. The following pages include your supply lists for your first year as well as your ticket to come to Hogwarts. We anticipate your decision._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Professor Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress_

The second page held the list of supplies he would need during his first year at Hogwarts.

 _Uniform- three sets of plain work robes (black)_

 _one plain pointed hat (black) for day wear_

 _one pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)_

 _one winter cloak (black with silver fastenings)_

 _Set Books- The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk_

 _A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot_

 _Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffing_

 _A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch_

 _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore_

 _Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger_

 _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander_

 _The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self- Protection by Quentin Trimble_

 _Other Equipment- one wand_

 _one cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)_

 _one set of glass phials or crystal phials_

 _one telescope_

 _one set brass scales_

 _Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad_

 _Parents are reminded that first years are NOT allowed their own broomsticks_

"I'm not allowed to bring a broomstick?! Does that mean I can't try out for Quidditch?" Mr. Potter laughed at James outburst as Mrs. Potter began to look over the list. "I should think that they wouldn't allow first years to being a broomstick much less play Quidditch. They are still young and may not be very good flyers. Much better this way, dear." Mrs. Potter patted James cheek as she sat down with the list. "Don't it bother you too much James. Next year you'll be able to try out for the team." Mr. Potter ruffled James' hair as he left the kitchen. Mrs. Potter looked up at her son and smiled. "He's right, sweetheart. There will always be next year. Now, when shall we go get your supplies and you still have to write back to Hogwarts letting them know you'll be attending."

* * *

 _ **A few months later in Diagon Alley**_

The Evans' family followed Professor McGonagall as they walked through Diagon Alley. Professor McGonagall told them that Lily's seven years of tuition would be paid in full by the school, but they would need to pay for all of her school supplies. After going to Gringotts to exchange their muggle money for wizarding money, Professor McGonagall showed them from store to store and helped Lily get her supplies. They first went to Flourish and Blotts where Lily got all of her textbooks and then headed over to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions where Lily was fitted in her Hogwarts robes. The next stop was Potage's Cauldron Shop and Scribbulus Writing Instruments before heading to Ollivander's where Lily received her wand, 10 1/4" made of willow with a core of unicorn hair. After getting her wand, Professor McGonagall lead her family to Eeylops Owl Emporium before excusing herself to go help another muggle family.

Lily wandered up and down the aisles of owls looking at each one. Her parents and Petunia were waiting outside for her as the shop wasn't very big. She had stopped in front of a beautiful tawny owl and was watching it when she heard a voice next to her. "Pretty isn't it?" Looking over to the voice, she saw a skinny boy with messy, jet black hair and brown eyes that shone bright behind a pair of round rimmed spectacles. She nodded shyly before turning back to the owl, not noticing that the boy was still standing there watching her.

"Are you starting Hogwarts?" His voice pulled her out of her gaze at the bird and she nodded again. "Do you speak?" She nodded again and then let out a small laugh. He laughed too before running through a hand through his already messy hair. "Sorry, I must be scaring you. I'm James, James Potter." He stuck out his hand and she shyly shook it. "Lily, Lily Evans." After stating her name, she turned her attention back to the tawny owl which had flown over to her shoulder. "She likes you." James noted and Lily giggled, slightly frightened of the bird on her shoulder.

"Are you a first year?" James looked at her as she interacted with the bird. "Yeah, are you?" James nodded. "I'm hoping that I'll be placed in Gryffindor. The rest of my family has been in Gryffindor. What house do you think you'll be placed in?" Lily looked at him curiously. "House? I'm sorry, but I don't understand." James blushed as he realized she was a muggle-born. "Sorry, you must be a muggle-born. Hogwarts has four houses. Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart. Slytherin, where dwell the cunning. Ravenclaw, where the knowledgeable are found. Hufflepuff, where dwell the loyal." Lily nodded after his explanation and then contemplated each of the houses. "Well, I'm not exactly cunning or brave, but I am loyal and intelligent so maybe Ravenclaw?" James nodded back at her. "Ravenclaw's a good house, but I think you'd be a Gryffindor seeing as you were brave enough to not freak when that owl landed on you." Lily blushed and then looked at the owl on her shoulder.

"I'm sure they do this to everyone so I can't be brave." She turned back to look at James who shook his head. "I wish. They rarely do that. Even the owls my family has back at home don't do that. Either that bird really likes you or you've got a thing with animals." Lily blushed again and then thanked him. "Lily dear! Have you picked out your owl?" Lily looked up as her mother walked in. "Sweetheart, we need to leave soon.. Oh, hello there. I'm Lily's mother and you are?" James stuck out his hand. "James, James Potter. Sorry for keeping Lily, we were talking." James turned to look at Lily and smiled. "I guess I'll see you when term starts Lily. I'd better go before my parents wonder where I am." He waved good-bye to Lily and her mother before exiting the shop.

"Well wasn't he a sweet gentleman." Mrs. Evans turned and looked back at her daughter who was staring off in the direction the James had just walked. "Did you find an owl dear?" Lily snapped out of her gaze and nodded to her mother before motioning to her shoulder where the tawny owl sat. Together, they went up and payed for the owl, a cage and some treats before meeting her father and sister and heading back home.

"James, dear! There you are! Where have you been? We still have to get you your robes, wand and owl?" James smiled, his mind wandering back to the red haired girl with emerald green eyes he had met in the Owl Emporium. "I've been looking at the owls, mum. I met another first year there." His mother looked up from her list to stare at him. "Oh, really? Who? Anyone we would know?" James shook his head. "No, she was a muggle-born." His mother looked back at him with greater interest. "A muggle-born? She wasn't with a guide?" James shook his head again. "No, she was looking at all the owls. It was weird, mum. She's a muggle-born and one of the tawny owls just up and flies over to her shoulder. I've never seen an owl do that before, even to a half-blood or pure-blood wizard." His mother looked up very interested. "Really? Well, that's fascinating. Did you find an owl that you'd like while you were there?" "No, I was too busy watching her interact with the tawny owl and talking her to look." His mother laughed as she walked towards Madam Malkin's.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize. J.K. Rowling does. I do own the plot though...

* * *

 _ **September 1, 1971- Platform 9 and 3/4**_

Lily's excitement grew as she and her family followed Professor McGonagall through King's Cross Station to Platform 9 and 3/4. Lily was extremely curious as to where Platform 9 and 3/4 was because in all of her time traveling by train to places, she had never seen Platform 9 and 3/4, only Platforms 9 and 10. She assumed that it was invisible to everyone and that only few people could find it, like witches or wizards. Lily pulled herself out of her trance as Professor McGonagall stopped at the border between Platforms 9 and 10. Looking around, she saw no Platform 9 and 3/4 and began to worry. What if there wasn't a Platform 9 and 3/4? What if Professor McGonagall was lying to her? What if she had dreamt this all up?

Turning around to face Lily, Professor McGonagall smiled at her perplexed face. "Ms. Evans, I suggest you say good-bye to your parents and sister now as the train will be leaving shortly. You will be able to see them at Christmas break and when term is ended." Lily nodded and left her things to go say goodbye to her family. Her parents both gave her warm hugs and told her to write, while Petunia stood to the side and didn't make eye contact with her. "Bye Tuny." Lily walked over to where her sister was and reached out to squeeze her hand. Petunia didn't turn to look at her and pretended as if Lily wasn't there. Heartbroken, Lily turned back to her parents who gave her sympathetic smiles. It had been like that all summer. Lily trying to befriend Petunia and Petunia avoiding her like the plague.

Giving one last hug to her parents, Lily went back over to her trolley and her things, where Professor McGonagall waited. Professor McGonagall ushered her over to the barrier while explaining that she would just have to walk through it. With one final look over her shoulder at her family, Lily turned to face the barrier and walked through.

"Can we go yet, Mum?" James had been bounding around the Potter Manor for the past couple of hours asking every few minutes if it was time for them to leave. His father had left early for the Auror's office leaving his mother to take him to the station. It was only 9 o'clock in the morning, but his mother had already drank several headache potions. "James Fleamont Potter! How many times must I tell you that we will leave at ten till ten! Also, sit down child! You have and are giving me a headache!" Mrs. Potter sighed and rubbed her temples as James finally calmed down. Too much was going on in such a short time. James going off to Hogwarts, Fleamont always gone on missions, and herself managing her own missions. She would be glad when she could retire. Vacations, no children in the house. Maybe by that time, James would be married and have his own children that she could spoil. Mrs. Potter had to laugh to herself at that last one. She felt sorry for the woman that would end up marrying James and hoped she could handle the handful that he was. Then again, James took after his father and she had married him and lived to tell the tale, so maybe his wife would survive.

"Mum?" Mrs. Potter was drawn back to reality with James voice. "Yes, James?" She groaned and sighed internally waiting for his 'can we go yet' question. "It's 9:50. Can we go know?" Mrs. Potter breathed a sigh of relief and then nodded which sent James in a frenzy to gather his things. When all of his things were gathered together, Mrs. Potter banished them to the car and then walked out with James to it. They were one of the few pure-blooded families that had a car and tended only to use it when needing to go into muggle London. Their car was also the only muggle thing that they owned seeing as nothing else muggle really worked in the manor. Muggle things tended not to work in places impregnated with magic so many pure-blood families didn't have them nor would they want to have them as most were very prejudiced against anything muggle, including the people themselves.

The drive to King's Cross Station was a beautiful drive through the country and then into the city. Throughout the drive, Mrs. Potter reminded James of things he should and shouldn't do. Write often, be kind to the other students, make friends, don't get pulled into gangs, look out for dark magic, don't get into loads of trouble (James laughed at this one), help those who need it, and more. By the time they arrived at Platform 9 and 3/4, James was saying okay after every word his mother said in hopes that she would shut up. "James Fleamont Potter! You will listen to what I am telling you because I do NOT, and I repeat do NOT want letters from the Headmaster every week telling me of things that you have done. Do you understand?" James nodded and continued to push the trolley until they reached the barrier.

"You remember what your father told you, right?" James nodded, slightly nervous. "Just walk straight into that wall and you'll go to Platform 9 and 3/4. I'll be right behind you." James nodded and began to walk as his mother gave him a little nudge. He looked around nervously at the muggles before quickly walking through the barrier and onto Platform 9 and 3/4, his mother not far behind.

James was immediately amazed at the sights and was looking around wildly, not paying attention to anything. On his left was the magnificent Hogwarts Express, a gorgeous red with gold trimming, and around him were all sorts of wizarding families helping their children get on board. James was so amazed by everything around him that he didn't realize the girl in front of him, until it was too late. "Hey!" The small girl gave out a cry as James' trolley knocked her over. James immediately snapped back to reality and ran over to help her up. "I'm sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going! I didn;t hurt you did I?" He stretched out his hand to help the girl up noticing how red her hair was. "Only my pride is hurt, but that's fixable." James laughed and bent over to gather up some of her things. Standing back up, he saw that he was face to face with the girl looking into her beautiful emerald green eyes, eyes he recognized. "Lily?" Lily laughed at his bewildered face as she took her things from him, setting them back on her trolley. "Hi, James." James gave a small wave back, still mesmerized by her eyes and gave a small laugh himself.

"James Fleamont Potter!" James head snapped over to where he heard his mother's voice. He watched as she stormed over looking extremely angry. "I told you that you were supposed to wait for me so I could help you get on the train. I come through the barrier and can't find you and then, while I'm searching for you, I see you knock over a poor girl with your trolley. Honestly child, do you have a brain in that head of yours?" James looked down sheepishly at his shoes as a blush crept up his cheeks. Lily stood by him trying not to laugh at him, her hands covering her face in an attempt to stop the giggles escaping from her. Mrs. Potter looked at her son and sighed muttering 'a child with common sense, that's all I ask for' which caused Lily to laugh harder. Mrs. Potter, hearing her laughter, turned around and looked at her. "Hello dear. You'll have to excuse James. He is easily excited and distracted. I hope he didn't damage anything." Lily shook her head as she tried to calm herself down. Mrs. Potter nodded and then motioned for James to get his trolley. "Now then, let's get you a compartment James." Turning to Lily she added, "Do you need help finding one too dear?" Lily nodded and then followed Mrs. Potter with her things, still giggling.

"It wasn't that funny, Lily." James admonished her, still quite red in the face. This caused Lily to giggle harder. "If you look at it from my perspective, it is. Your face when you realized who you knocked over and then your face when your mom chewed you out." She paused to laugh some more. "Sorry, but that's the best thing that has happened to me all day." She turned and smiled over at James who smiled back. Lily turned back to watch where Mrs. Potter was headed, but James continued to stare at her. He was so mesmerized by her, he failed to notice that his mother had stopped walking until he ran into her. Looking back front, he saw what he had done and paled. His mother was staring straight and counting, quietly. Lily had begun to giggle again and was making desperate attempts to cover it up. James, hearing his mother's counting and Lily's gigglings, turned several shades of red and began to stare at his shoes.

It took a while to find an open compartment as most of them were filled with returning students. They eventually found an empty compartment towards the back of the train and sat down, to nervous about the upcoming year to talk. James looked down at his shoes and contemplated school. Lily was looking around the compartment and watching the students passing by. There was a short knock at the compartment door and it opened to show a young boy with shaggy black hair and a young girl with shiny black hair. "Is it alright if we sit in this compartment? Everywhere else is full." Lily and James nodded, scooting over to make room for them even though there was plenty of room. The boy with the shaggy hair took a seat next to James and pompously held out his hand. "Name's Sirius, Sirius Black." James flinched slightly when he heard the name 'Black', but still shook his hand. Sirius noticed this and laughed. "S'alright, but I'm not a big fan of us either." James gave a little laugh at this, but didn't relax. "I'm James, James Potter." Sirius nodded back in acknowledgement and then turned to Lily. "I'm Lily, Lily Evans." Sirius inclined his head to acknowledge Lily and then jerked a hand toward the girl with the shiny black hair. "That's Marlene McKinnon. Usually pretty talkative, but an older student shut her up with the _Silencio_ spell. Should be wearing off when we get to the castle."

Lily looked over at Marlene and gave a small smile and wave which she returned. James nodded in acknowledgement. "So, what year are you two?" Sirius gestured towards Lily and James. "Marlene and me are first years, both hoping to be in Gryffindor." James relaxed slightly at this proclamation. "I'm a first year also and want to be in Gryffindor too. My whole family has been in Gryffindor." Lily nodded to acknowledge that she too wanted to be in Gryffindor. "Anything, but Slytherin." Sirius made a face and shuddered. "My whole family was in Slytherin and let me tell you, not one of them turned out good." The rest of the ride was fairly quiet with James and SIrius exchanging a few words and Lily occasionally joining. Marlene sat there watching them intently trying to speak with her eyes, with no success.

About 15 minutes before the train was to arrive at the Hogsmeade station, prefects and the Head boy and girl were bustling up and down the corridors of the train, reminding returning students to change and telling the new students to change. Lily and Marlene was already in their uniforms, with the exception of their robes. James too only had his robe left to put on. Sirius left the compartment and headed for the bathrooms to change into his uniform and robes, coming back a few minutes later looking very disheveled.

"Hoards of people! I could barely move through the hallways!" He sat down on the seat with a thump and looked around at the rest of them who were too nervous to speak, couldn't speak, or were too interested in their shoes. The rest of the ride to the station was quiet, with Sirius looking around at the rest of them periodically and James occasionally sneaking a glance up at Lily, who stared out the window at the passing scenery.

When the train pulled into the Hogsmeade station, Lily, James, Sirius and Marlene looked around at each other and then began to follow the rest of the students out. Being first years, they were quite small and were unable to see around the rest of the students and in the end were just swallowed by the rest of the students slowly making their way out of the train. Once making it out, the swarms of students began to thin, allowing them to find each other again.

"Firs' years! Firs' years ov'a here!" A loud booming voice sounded to the left of them and they turned to see a huge man with a lantern walking amongst the students. "Firs' years?" The man motioned to them with the lantern and they slowly nodded their heads, unsure what to think. "Alrighty then! Follow me." The man lumbered off to where a bigger group of first years were waiting with wide eyes. The man stood in front of the group and looked them all up and down.

"Righty! So yur all firs' years here right?" They all nodded. "Won'erful! I'm Hagrid, the Gamekeeper at Hogwarts. Now, if you'll follow me, we'll be headin' that way." He turned around and began to walk down a path leading into a growth of forest. The first years all looked around at each other nervously before slowly following Hagrid.

As it was still light out the forest growth wasn't scary, but rather enticing. Many of the first years were looking around, trying to see if there were any exotic animals hidden in there, like a pegasus or a unicorn. They continued through the forest growth for awhile and were eventually led to a small dock where a fleet of wooden row boats sat.

"Alrighty now! These here boats are gonna take us up to the castle an' I would like four students to a boat." Immediately they were all rushing to get to a boat and see the castle. Lily and Marlene had been separated from the boys a while back and ended up in a boat with a small, skinny boy with straight black hair hanging almost to his shoulders and another girl with white blonde hair who seemed very shy. James and Sirius ended up with a scrawny boy with scars on his face and a very nervous, chubby little boy. Sirius, being himself, immediately introduced himself to the two boys, who nodded back and then returned to looking around calmly and nervously. James, had nodded to the two boys and was now searching for Lily and Marlene, but sitting in a boat, was unable to find them.

"Now, yur all in a boat, so let's head on up to ther castle." Hagrid was in a boat all to himself because of his great size and with a knock on the side of his boat, the fleet began to move forward.

"So," Sirius attempted again to create conversation. "What houses do you guys want to be put in?" He looked intently over at the other two boys who turned back to look at him when he spoke. The scrawny boy with the scars spoke first. "Either Ravenclaw or Gryffindor. You?" Sirius immediately jumped into action. "I'm hoping for Gryffindor. It's the best house there is." The nervous looking boy nodded as Sirius spoke, more out of fear than anything else. "M-me too. I'm Peter." He added hastily as an afterthought. Sirius nodded in agreement and then turned to face the scrawny, scared boy. "And you are?" He nodded to the boy who had once again turned his attention to the surrounding scenery. "Remus, Remus Lupin." Sirius nodded and then turned to motion towards James. "This is James and he wants to get into Gryffindor too." Hearing his name, James snapped his attention back to his boat mates, unable to find Lily. "Huh?" Sirius laughed and Remus gave a little smirk. "I just told them your name and what house you want to be in, James. What you looking for anyways?" James had to blush at Sirius' question. "I was looking for Lily and Marlene. We lost them in the crowd and now I can't find them." Sirius nodded and then shrugged. "They're probably in one of the boats. We'll see them up at the castle." James nodded, but turned his attention back to finding Lily and Marlene as Sirius and Remus engaged in a conversation about what they were looking forward too.

Not that far away were Lily and Marlene along with the black haired boy and the blonde girl. Not much had been said as Lily was extremely shy and nervous and Marlene, well, she still couldn't talk. The black haired boy was looking at Lily intently and the blonde haired girl was looking around at their surroundings. "Have I seen you before?" The black haired boy asked Lily who jumped slightly. "Uh… no. I don't believe so." The boy studied her for a bit. "Hmm. You remind me of someone in my neighborhood. I'm Severus, Severus Snape." Lily gave a nervous smile. "Lily." She gestured over to Marlene who was looking very unhappy. "This is Marlene." Noticing Severus' curious face she quickly added that an older student had cast a _Silencio_ charm on her before the train ride. Severus nodded and then turned over to the blonde girl. "And you are?" "Alice." The ride turned silent for a while as they looked around at their surroundings. "Do you guys know what houses you want to be sorted into?" Quiet Alice spoke up, looking around at her boatmates. "I want to be in Gryffindor." Severus gave a laugh. "Gryffindor? Really? Only babies and sissies get put in Gryffindor. I want to be placed in Slytherin. At least there the people are cunning and smart." Alice's face had become livid while Severus was talking. "I hope you know that the only people to come out of Slytherin are evil and most end up in Azkaban." With that she turned and face Lily and Marlene. "Where do you two want to be placed?" Lily gave a quick glance at Severus and then to Alice noting the tension there was. "I'm hoping for Ravenclaw or Gryffindor and Marlene is.." Lily was unable to finish her thought as Marlene gave a cry of relief. "Finally! I thought that charm would never break!" She smiled at Alice and Lily before continuing. "I want to be placed in Gryffindor too." Alice smiled back and nodded, then turned her attention back to the scenery.

"Alright everyone! If you would look up now, you can see the castle. Jus' around this corner." The first years all held their breathe as the fleet of boats turned around the corner. Before their eyes stood an ancient Scottish castle, lit up with various lights. They could just make out the carriages, taking the older students up to the castle and every now and then could see owls flying around. The sight was breathtaking. The castle sat on a cliff and was hidden partially by a forest. Leading up to it was a stone pathway that currently held the carriages. The entrance to the school was marked by a huge stone gate with two gargoyles on the posts. The gates were currently open as the carriages were going through. The castle itself had many sections to it with towers and flying buttresses. It looked like something you would read of in a medieval book. The first years were gasping and exclaiming. Some began to fret and worry because the castle was so large. Lily loved the castle before even entering its great doors. James took one look and knew that he was home.

The boats eventually made it to another dock and the first years followed Hagrid up a stone path that lead to the front gates. They stared in awe at the carriages which were being pulled along by nothing. It was magic! They followed Hagrid up to the front doors where a stern older woman stood. Lily immediately recognized her as Professor McGonagall and at once felt better. The first years stopped in a cluster behind Hagrid who talked quietly with Professor McGonagall. He soon left and they all began to fret a little more.

"Welcome students! My name is Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts. In a few moments, I will take you through these doors and into the great hall where you shall be sorted into one of the four houses here. They are Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart, Slytherin, where dwell the cunning, Ravenclaw, where the knowledgeable are prized, and Hufflepuff, the loyal. Once sorted, you will remain in your respective house for the next four years. Any well-doings on your part will grant points towards your house and any wrong-doings will take away points from your house. At the end of the year there is a House Cup and the House with the most points wins so may I caution you to be on your absolute best behavior. Now, if you will follow me, we shall get on with the Sorting."

Professor McGonagall turned and strode through the front doors with the first years behind her. They followed her all the way down the hallway to another set of tall doors which opened before they arrived. Just beyond the doors was a great hall lit up with floating candles. To the left of the doors were two tables and to the right another two tables, one for each house. At the front of the room was a short flight of stairs and a long table facing the four house tables. Looking up, one would think that the hall had no ceiling, but that is was simply open to the night sky. Professor McGonagall led the first years down the middle of the hall and to the front where a rickety old hat sat on a stool. Professor McGonagall stood to the side of it holding a scroll and the first years gathered in front of it all staring curiously at the strange, rumpled object. Many of them gasped and one, Peter, squeaked when a rip formed at the base and it began to sing. They all watched with rapt attention as it sang about the four founders, Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Hegla Hufflepuff, who decided one day to make a school for young children to learn how to control their magic. While trying to figure out how to sort them between their four houses, Rowena came up with the idea of the Sorting Hat and with their brains and magic he was created and had been working ever since.

When the hat had finished its song, the whole hall burst into applause and the first years, unsure of what to do, began to clap as well. When the applause had died down, Professor McGonagall undid her scroll and began to name off children. One by one, the first years went up to the hat, which was placed on their head and then were given their respective houses.

"Alice Privett." Alice gave a worried look at Lily and Marlene before going up and having the hat placed on her head. There was a short silence in the hall before the hatt proclaimed ' _Gryffindor!'_ and Alice hurried off towards Gryffindor's table, met with a thundering of applause . Marlene was also placed into Gryffindor as well as Remus, Sirius and Peter. "Lily Evans." Lily felt her face immediately flame up in a blush as she hurried up to the hat. Professor McGonagall placed it on her head and it immediately began to think.

' _Hmmm. Very smart I see. Could be placed in Ravenclaw, but I also detect a fierce loyalty and bravery. Hmmm. Where to put you?'_ Lily panicked and could feel her heart pounding in her chest as the hat thought. It was silent for a moment and then called out ' _Gryffindor!'_ Lily felt her face light up with a huge smile and she began to walk over to Gryffindor's table passing Severus as she went who gave her a sad smile. She went and sat down next to Alice and Marlene who were across from Sirius, Remus and Peter. They all smiled at her and she smiled back before turning her attention back up to the hat.

"James Potter." James gulped and made his way up to the hat. The moment the hat touched his head, the hat yelled out ' _Gryffindor!'_ and a relieved James made his way over to Gryffindor's table, sitting next to Sirius. He gave a smile to Lily who smiled back brightly.

"Severus Snape." Lily noticed that the boy from her boat looked nervous as he made his way up. The hat had barely touched his head when it gave a cry of ' _Slytherin!'_ Severus looked over at Lily as he made his way down to the Slytherin table, which was across the hall from the Gryffindor table and gave her a sad smile.

With the Sorting over, Professor McGonagall took the scroll, hat and stool away and an older man with a long white beard stood up. He was dressed in periwinkle robes and had half-moon spectacles from which his eyes twinkled behind.

"Welcome students, new and returning." His voice was slightly raspy, but kind. "To those of you who have yet to meet me, I am Professor Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts. Before we begin the welcome feast, there are a few things I must mention. First, the Forbidden Forest is forbidden to all students as the name suggests. Secondly, Mr. Filch, our caretaker, has a list of things that have been banned from the school, many of which are from Zonko's Joke Shop. Thirdly, the third floor is forbidden to all students as there is construction going on. I must remind you to watch out for the staircases as they move and many have vanishing steps. Now, with the reminders finished, let us feast." The hall erupted into applause again and when Lily turned back around, she was amazed to see plates piled high with many different foods. James, noticing her shocked expression, smirked.

"Hey, Lily." She looked up at him, blushing. "You going to eat?" He gestured to the mountains of food in front of them and smiled. Lily nodded and blushed looking back down at her plate before getting food. When they had all been sufficiently filled, the food disappeared along with all the plates and cutlery. Dumbledore stood up once again and the hall fell silent.

"Now, I trust you all have been sufficiently fed. I would like to introduce our Head Boy and Girl, Theodore Billus, from Ravenclaw, and Jenna Stow, from Gryffindor. Prefects and Heads, would you please direct the first years to their respective dormitories. Now, it is time for a well deserved rest so I suggest you all skedaddle off." With those words the hall erupted into madness again. The Head Girl immediately called for all Gryffindor first years to follow her and began to lead them up the many stairs to the Gryffindor common room. They all stopped outside, by a portrait of an extremely fat lady.

"Password?" She asked in a very rich and silky voice. The Head Girl turned around to face all the first years. "There is a weekly password to remember. Without it, you cannot get into the common room. This week's password is _Fortitudinem_." Turning around she repeated it to the portrait and then lead them all through when it swung forward. They were immediately shown into a large room decorated in red and gold. There were two fireplaces each with a golden lion atop of them. In front of the fireplaces were red couches and seats. Scattered amongst the room were tables and chairs and opposite the fireplaces were enormous windows with seats that overlooked the Quidditch Field.

The Head Girl stopped in the middle of the room and the first years gathered around her. "This is the Gryffindor common room and will be your home for the next nine months. The staircase to my right leads to the boys dormitories where you will find the first year dormitories. To my left is the staircase to the girls dormitories. Both dormitories are marked with a plaque and shouldn't be too hard to find. Curfew is at 9 o'clock and breakfast starts at 7. Any questions?" She looked around the few first years that there were and when no hands were raised she sent them off to bed telling them that their things would already be there waiting for them.

Lily, Marlene, Alice and another girl walked up the staircase and to their dormitory. Inside they found four poster beds, each with a side table and a small wardrobe. In between two beds was a window overlooking the lake. In between another two was a door to the bathroom and in between the last two was another window overlooking the Quidditch fields. Lily chose the bed that was to the left of the window overlooking the quidditch fields. Alice chose the bed to the left of the bathroom door and Marlene chose the bed to the left of the window overlooking the lake. The other girl, chose the bed to the right of the window overlooking the quidditch fields. No words were spoken as they unpacked their things and got ready for bed. The last thing Lily thought about before falling asleep, was how excited Petunia would have been.

The boys' dormitory was an exact replica of the girls' dormitory. James, unknowingly, picked the bed that was to the left of the window overlooking the quidditch fields. Sirius chose the bed to the left of the window overlooking the lake while Remus chose the bed to the left of the bathroom, leaving Peter with the bed to the right of the window overlooking the Quidditch field. There were no words exchanged as they unpacked and readied themselves for bed. The last thing James thought of before going to sleep, was how happy Lily had looked when the hat had placed her in Gryffindor. He hoped she would smile like that again because it made her beautiful.

 _ **The Headmaster's Office**_

"Headmaster," Dumbledore looked up at Professor McGonagall. "Yes, Minerva." "Did you feel that?" Not moments ago, there had been a pulse of energy through the entire castle. Nodding, Dumbledore sighed. "I daresay that we shall have an interesting seven years, Minerva." Minerva looked at Dumbledore with curiosity. "Seven years? Whatever do you mean?" Dumbledore gave a small chuckle as his eyes twinkled from behind his half-moon spectacles. "We shall see some wondrous things that have not happened for at least two centuries, Minerva. Powerful magic built on everlasting love." Minerva nodded, still completely confused and turned to head back to her quarters, leaving Dumbledore alone.

For a moment it was silent, then another tremor passed through the castle much stronger than the last. "Oh, yes. It shall be an interesting year for the Potters'."

Not far away in the Gryffindor tower, two sleeping first years were enveloped in a cocoon of soft gold. Yes, the magic was already taking place.

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 **Thank you to all those who favorited and followed! It means so much! Sorry this chapter is a little longer than the last, but I had to get in everything. I hopefully will post chapter three soon, but unfortunately have a life outside of writing. Enjoy!**

 **~ . .kids**


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Everything belongs to and is owned by the queen, J.K. Rowling. The plot, well, that's mine.

Please read and review!

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 _ **Hogwarts, Gryffindor Tower, Girls' Dormitories**_

Lily awoke to the sun peaking through the window and making everything in the room have a soft, golden glow. Looking around, she was confused at her surroundings until her eyes laid on the Hogwarts crest on one of her roommates wardrobes. She immediately sat up with excitement as she remembered everything that had happened over the past few months. She was a witch and had been accepted into _Hogwarts: School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_. Yesterday she had arrived at Hogwarts and today was her first day of school.

Lily smile was huge as she quietly got ready for the day and every little thing she did made it grow bigger. By the time she put on her uniform, it looked like her face might split in half from smiling so much. Her dorm mates were slowly waking up as she was putting on her robes.

"Morning Lily." Marlene called out from her bed as she sat up and lazily rubbed her eyes. "What time is it?" She slowly crawled out her bed and over to her wardrobe. "Oh, almost 7:15." Marlene promptly banged her head on her wardrobe. "7:15? Why on earth are you, we up this early Lily? I could be sleeping still!" Lily giggled at Marlene's outburst as she cleaned up her things. "I'm up 'cause I'm excited for everything to begin. You're up because the sun was shining directly into your eyes. I'm surprised you weren't up any earlier." Marlene gave a groan as she began to get ready. "If this happens everyday, I think I'm gonna die." Marlene slammed her wardrobe shut with her statement causing Lily to laugh and waking up the other girls before sulking off to the bathrooms.

"What was that all about?" Alice sat up blearily in her bed. "Why's Marlene mad?" A loud bang from the bathroom told them that Marlene was showering and sent Lily into another round of laughter. "Can you all shut up?" The other girl in their dorm, Cynthia, had just buried her head underneath her pillow in attempt to shut them all out. Alice gave a small chuckle and shook her head as she began to get ready for the day. Lily sat on the end of her bed waiting for them to finish so they could head down to breakfast. Alice got ready fairly quickly and then went over to Cynthia's bed and ripped the covers off of her. Cynthia shrieked and sat up. "Alice!" Alice just laughed and Lily went into another round of giggles. They were still laughing as Marlene came out of the bathroom. She gave a sympathetic look to Cynthia who sat on her bed fuming. "They get you too?" Cynthia nodded before getting her stuff and going to get ready. Lily and Alice were still laughing.

James awoke to the sun peaking through the window and felt excited and extremely happy. He began to hum a little tune under his breath as he got ready for the day. "Oi! Shut up James!" Sirius was currently burrowing himself under his sheets, trying to hide from the sun that was currently shining in his eyes. James gave a small laugh and continued to hum. "You are a horrible singer James." He looked over to find Remus sitting up in his bed rubbing his eyes. "Please do us all a favor and don't sing professionally." A timid chuckle was heard from Peter's corner of the room, prompting James to hum louder. He was interrupted mid tune by an airborne pillow from a grinning Sirius who had resurfaced. Soon each boy was up and out of bed, pillows whizzing around the warm dormitory, their laughs echoing off the cobblestone walls.

Eventually, driven by the sweet smell of buttermilk hotcakes, they decided getting dressed would be a good idea. James, who had already prepared for the day, left the three and bounded down the plush staircase to the common room. His footsteps suddenly halted when he met eyes with Lily, sitting in a dwarfing arm chair where she had been thoughtfully observing the fresh summer morning. "Good morning," she said brightly. "Good morning," he responded, stepping down and hastily running his hand through his wild, ebony hair, attempting to smooth it down. "Isn't this place wonderful!" she began excitedly. "The common room, the great hall- and those moving staircases! I've never seen any place like it." James beamed and nodded in agreement, noticing the real Lily who had broken from her shyness. "You don't seem very surprised by all this. Is it because you grew up with magic?" Lily was looking up at James and he felt himself blush a little. Running his hand through his already messy hair, he replied. "To tell you the honest truth, I'm surprised and shocked. Even though I've grown up with magic, I still am star-struck by the amazing things you can do with it." Lily nodded and then turned back to the window, looking out and watching the sun as it climbed over the Quidditch field.

"Lily!" Lily looked over to see her crazy friends, namely Marlene come bounding down the stairs. Sure it was only the first day of school, but LIly could already tell that Marlene, Alice and her were going to be best friends. Cynthia she wasn't so sure about seeing she didn't really know her, but maybe with time, they would also be friends. "C'mon Lily! Let's go eat!" Marlene bounded over to where Lily was sitting and then stopped to look at the boy standing near her. "Hi! I'm Marlene, oh wait… You're that boy from the compartment. Jared, right?" James laughed and shook his head. "No, my name's…." "JAMES!" Sirius had taken that opportune moment to bound down the stairs. "Yeah," James said to Marlene, gesturing over to where Sirius stood. "James is my name." Marlene laughed and then grabbed Lily's hand. "Sorry to break up your little party Jeff, but we're taking Lily and heading down to breakfast. See you later, John!" Lily laughed as Marlene pulled her out of the common room. Just before the door shut they heard James yell, "My name is James!" Marlene, Alice and Lily just laughed before walking down to the Great Hall for breakfast.

"Who was that?" Sirius strode over to where a red-faced exasperated James stood. "Was that Marlene?" James nodded sending Sirius into a fit of laughter. "Man! That girl is good! I bet you she will go out of her way to mess up your name!" James looked over to where Sirius stood laughing and shoved him over so that he landed on one of the couched with a thump, still laughing. James shook his head and walked over to the door leaving Sirius behind. "Oi! You're not mad about that are you, James? Have some fun, man! Knowing Marlene she was only teasing you." Sirius walked over to James, throwing his arm around his shoulders comfortably as he was a few inches taller. James laughed and shoved Sirius off, walking out of the common room. Sirius caught up with him and they headed down to the Great Hall together. "Mind you, it's Marlene so she will probably never call you James, only Jared, or some other male name that starts with a J."

When they go to the Great Hall, they made a beeline for Lily, Marlene and Alice, sitting across the table from them. Marlene looked up as they sat down and gleefully called out, "Morning Sirius! Morning Jonas!" James groaned as he sat down while Sirius, Lily, Alice, and Marlene began to laugh.

"Good morning students. I trust that you all slept well your first night here. Reminder that classes start today and your heads of house will be passing your schedules out now. First years, do feel free to ask for help when finding your classes as this is a large castle and one wrong turn could cause you to be lost for weeks. Take note that the staircases do move as does the castle itself. Last week, I was walking along the seventh floor corridor and turned left to find that I was in a most charming bathroom. I have not been able to find it since. Now, enjoy the rest of your breakfast and your first day of term." The hall erupted back into chatter as Professor Dumbledore finished his speech. The heads of houses were indeed passing out schedules and Lily sat their in anticipation. When they got their schedules, they found them all the same.

 **Lily Evans: First Year**

 _ **Monday**_

8:00 am - 9:00 am Charms with Hufflepuff

9:30 am - 11:30 am Double Herbology with Ravenclaw

12:00 am - 2:00 pm Lunch/ Study/ Recreational

2:30 pm - 3:30 pm History of Magic with Ravenclaw

4:00 pm - 5:00 pm Dinner

5:00 pm - 9:00 pm Study/ Recreational

 _ **Tuesday**_

8:00 am - 10:00 am Double Defense Against the Dark Arts with Slytherin

10:30 am - 11:30 am Transfiguration with Hufflepuff

12:00 pm - 2:00 pm Lunch/ Study/ Recreational

2:30 pm - 3:30 pm Astronomy with Ravenclaw

4:00 pm - 5:00 pm Dinner

5:00 pm - 9:00 pm Study/ Recreational

 _ **Wednesday**_

8:00 am - 9:00 am History of Magic with Ravenclaw

9:30 am - 11: 30 am Double Potions with Slytherin

12:00 pm - 2:00 pm Lunch/ Study/ Recreational

2:30 pm - 3:30 pm Herbology with Ravenclaw

4:00 pm - 5:00 pm Dinner

5:00 pm - 9:00 pm Study/ Recreational

 _ **Thursday**_

8:00 am- 9:00 am Defense Against the Dark Arts with Slytherin

9:30 am - 11: 30 am Double Charms with Hufflepuff

12:00 pm - 2:00 pm Lunch/ Study/ Recreational

2:30 pm - 3:30 pm Potions with Slytherin

4:00 pm - 5:00 pm Dinner

5:00 pm- 9:00 pm Study/ Recreational

 _ **Friday**_

8:00 am - 10:00 am Double Transfiguration with Hufflepuff

10:30 am - 11:30 am History of Magic with Ravenclaw

12:00 pm - 2:00 pm Lunch/ Study/ Recreational

2:30 pm - 4:30 pm Flying Lessons

5:00 pm - 6:00 pm Dinner

6:00 pm - 9:00 pm Study/ Recreational

*Reminder that curfew is at 9:00 pm.

The first year Gryffindor and Hufflepuff stood outside in the Charms classroom in the hallway. There were a few groups of students talking excitedly about what they might be learning, but most of them were standing by themselves staring at the walls, the ceilings, the floor or the door to the Charms classroom. The Charms Room door soon opened and they all entered the room, sitting next to their roommates or housemates. Looking around, they found no teacher and resumed to talking with their friends or staring around the classroom. Looking around, Lily noticed that James and Sirius were nowhere to be found. When she mentioned this to Marlene and Alice, they just laughed and said that they were probably somewhere in the room. Lily nodded but continued to look around the room with a feeling that they were most likely going to show up late. Her attention was immediately brought to the front when a small explosion of fireworks sent flowers gracefully floating down around the room. All around the room various 'oohs' and 'aahs' were heard as the flowers faded away leaving behind their wonderful scent.

"Wonderful! It worked!" A small voice exclaimed from the front of the room. Turning, Lily saw a very small wizard dressed in bright blue robes standing on top of a chair. "Good morning class and welcome to your first day of -" The wizard was cut off as four boys came rushing into the room, throwing the door open in their haste. The boys stopped when they noticed everyone and began to look around. "Well, well. You are?" The boys attention snapped to the front where the small wizard addressed them. "I'm James, sir. This is Sirius, Remus and Peter." James pointed to each of the boys in turn who nodded, Sirius giving a jolly smile and enthusiastic wave and Peter who shyly raised his hand. "You four do understand that class starts at 8:00 and that you are 10 minutes late." James, Sirius, Peter and Remus nodded their heads slowly, as if waiting to be punished. "We're sorry sir. One of the staircases on our way up here moved while we were on it, sending us off to a different corridor and, well, we got lost." James, Sirius and Peter nodded at Remus' words as the small wizard looked them all over sternly. "Very well. You are excused for today, but take caution in the future please. Now, if you four would sit down, I can continue with the class." The boys nodded and quickly moved to sit down in the back of the room. Lily watched as they walked to the remaining seats and gave James a small smile when he looked up at her which he returned with a smile and a wave.

"Now, welcome to Charms everyone, my name is Professor Flitwick. I assume that you all have your textbooks. Wonderful. Now, charms is very delicate branch of magic and not many people are very good at it, but not to worry, you all shall do fine. Now, if you would get out your textbooks and open to chapter one, we shall begin learning." The rest of the class was spent taking notes on the various charms in the first chapter. How to correctly pronounce the incantation, the correct wand movements, and what the desired effects were. Class ended with Professor Flitwick demonstrating the swish and flick movement required for the Levitating Charm. "Your homework is to write a foot and a half essay on how the movement of the Levitating Charm helps attain the desired effect. Due Thursday at the beginning of class." With that, Professor Flitwick dismissed the class.

Lily, Alice and Marlene waited outside of the classroom for James, Remus, Sirius and Peter before heading off to Herbology with Ravenclaw. "Did you guys really get lost?" Marlene looked at Sirius curiously, trying to read him. "Yep. Everything that Remus said is true." Sirius turned and winked at James who laughed. Marlene looked back at Alice and Lily and rolled her eyes while muttering 'Boys' under her breath. "What was that Marlene?" Sirius turned around and playfully threw his arm around her shoulder. "Did you say something about me?" Marlene rolled her eyes again before shoving him off and walking off in the direction of Herbology with Lily and Alice. Sirius, who had ended up in a heap on the floor, gave a pained expression as he watched Marlene walk off while James leaned against the wall and clutched his stomach with laughter. Remus just smirked and Peter reached down to help him up. "I'm hurt." Sirius exclaimed. "Mortally wounded." "Oh, please Sirius. The only thing that could possibly be hurt is your pride." James gave away to another bout of laughter as Remus commented back to Sirius. The boys eventually made it to the greenhouses, but were late.

Professor Sprout had just introduced herself to the class when they walked in, James laughing slightly and Sirius looking hurt. "And you are?" Professor Sprout stopped midsentence to look pointedly at the four boys. "I'm James and this is Sirius, Remus and Peter." The four boys nodded in acknowledgement as Professor Sprout gave them a small glare. "Well now, I hope you four realize class started 5 minutes ago and that I will not tolerate lateness. You are excuse for today, but make sure to get here on time as Herbology is a very time needy class." The four boys nodded as Professor Sprout returned to the class. "Now, as I was saying, Herbology is the study of magic plants. During this class you will be working with various different plants, but nothing too dangerous as you are only first years'. I must warn you to have your dragon-hide gloves with you at all times as well as your textbooks. Today, we will be starting with safety measures and protocol. If you would turn your books to Chapter One, we shall discuss what to do and what not to do." There was a lot of rustling as everyone got out their books and, seeing no desks to put them on, figured out how to hold them and write. Professor Sprout went over every safety protocol and procedure while pointing out various things in the greenhouse that would be used if this disaster happened or that disaster happened. When they had gone through the chapter, Professor Sprout sent them off to the tables stationed around the greenhouse and told them to replant the foxglove. "Your dragonhide gloves are not needed for this, but I suggest you put them on as you should always wear protection even when handling the gentlest of magical plants." Lily, Marlene and Alice went and found a table and were soon joined by James, Sirius, Remus and Peter. "So, I'm assuming you didn't get lost this time. Why were you four late?" James began to laugh as Sirius looked hurt and Remus sighed. "I would explain, but I don't have the energy too."

The rest of the Herbology class period went smoothly. Each of them repotted their foxglove and then, once Professor Sprout deemed their potting perfect, they were dismissed, but not before she gave them a lengthy assignment. "I would like each and every one of you to take notes on Chapters 1 through 3. Due Wednesday." There was a small groan from the class as many of their teachers had given them loads of homework. "Tut, tut. No groaning. You are here to learn and how better to do it than by taking notes. You are dismissed."

Lily, Alice, and Marlene headed back up to the castle for lunch, the boys in tow and complaining loudly. "We already have a foot and a half essay due in Charms and she has to go and make us take notes on Chapters 1 through 3! That bloody child labor!" Sirius was in an uproar about the homework which made the girls laugh. "You do realize that our ext Charms class isn't until Thursday and that the next Herbology class isn't until Wednesday. So, being smart, you would do the Herbology homework first and then the Charms homework." Lily explained with a flourish before heading off with Alice and Marlene to eat, leaving the boys just staring after her. "She does have a point." Remus gestured after Lily. "That's not the point Remus!" Sirius gave a dramatic sigh before collapsing against the wall. "We still have History of Magic today, not to mention the other classes we have tomorrow and Wednesday. If they all give this amount of homework, I'll never get it done!" Sirius gave an exasperated cry and threw his head back. Remus shook his head and Peter and James began to laugh. "I understand that there is a two hour break for lunch, but I do believe it shouldn't be spent more wisely than laughing like a pack of hyenas in the corridor. Please spend your time wisely boys." Professor McGonagall gave a stern glare to the boys before heading into the Great Hall. It was Remus' turn to laugh as Peter and James looked sheepishly down at their feet. Sirius just gave another exasperated sigh and muttered something about how he was 'never going to live past his first year'. "Seeing as there are Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Seventh year students here, I think you'll live past your First year Sirius." Remus hoisted Sirius up to his feet and then dragged him into the Great Hall, Peter and James roaring with laughter behind them.

History of Magic was, in the most polite way, the most absolute dumbest hour of their lives. The first fifteen minutes of class had been spent trying to figure out where their teacher was and then half the class fainted or shrieked when he floated right through the chalkboard. The rest of the hour was spent mindlessly drooling and looking into space as Professor Binns droned on about History of Magic. This particular lecture was on the Gargoyle Strike of 1911. All of the gargoyles that guarded the magical places of the world decided that they no longer wanted to guard and protect and rose up in revolt. Seeing as they weren't magical or very magical, the wizarding population was able to easily overpower them and the gargoyles were sent back to their positions with new restrictions.

It was all quite boring as Professor Binns droned on in the most monotoned voice in the world. Half the class was either asleep or falling asleep with the exception of a few Ravenclaw students, Remus Lupin, and Lily Evans. How she was managing to pay attention in this class James would never know. Sirius kept shooting spit wads at the back of Remus' head and Peter, well James wasn't qutie sure where he was, oh wait. He had fallen off his chair and was asleep in a pile on the floor. How Professor Binns had missed that James would never know. "And your homework assignment due on Wednesday is a page essay on how the wizarding population in 1911 could have dealt with the Gargoyle Strike better." Sirius let out a groan and muttered something about 'making his own gargoyle strike today'. James just sighed and moved to wake up Peter as the bell rang.

"How on earth were you able to stay awake during History of Magic, Lily?" Marlene and Alice were questioning Lily when the boys made it down to dinner. "Easy, I took notes and boy am I glad I did because that essay will be a breeze." Sirius gave out a cry with the word essay and collapsed onto Peter who squeaked and knocked over his cup of pumpkin juice. James began to laugh, a common occurrence now, and Remus just sighed and shook his head, another common occurrence. The girls glanced warily over to where the boys were and shrugged their shoulders before turning back and talking about their homework.

"For the sake of my sanity, could you ladies please not discuss the homework." Sirius had pulled himself off of Peter who was covered in pumpkin juice and leaned over to interrupt the girls conversation. They all looked at him as though he was crazy and then continued to talk about the homework, causing Sirius to give out another cry and fall into Peter again, this time knocking his fork out of his hand, sending food flying. "It's just homework Sirius and besides, if we get it done now, that's more fun we can have later." Marlene looked at Sirius matter-of-factly before flinging some peas off of her spoon and into his face causing him to shriek again. Lily, Alice, Marlene, James, and Remus just laughed.

"This is not funny! Peas will ruin my luscious locks! Do you not understand?!" Sirius was now standing up in his seat, criticizing them while they just looked on and laughed. "Mr. Black, if you would sit down, I would like to make a few announcements." Sirius turned towards the front of the room, where Dumbledore was standing and slowly nodded before flipping his hair over his shoulder and sitting down with a huff.

"Now then, I hope your first day here at Hogwarts has been enriching and full of knowledge. There will be many days, weeks, and months to come of this knowledge so I would advise you to keep on top of your classwork. Reminder that curfew is at 9 o'clock and you should be in your common rooms. Prefects and Heads will be patrolling the school beginning at 9 and will not be merciful if you are found out of the common rooms. I hope you all have a wonderful night's rest and may sweet dreams fill your slumber."

Back in the Gryffindor common room, Sirius and James were playing with a set of Exploding Snap cards. Peter sat by watching them intently. Over on one of the couches, Lily could be found working on her Charms essay. She was flying through it, having already written two feet. Marlene was sitting across from Lily and was attempting to work on her essay, with little luck as her attention was constantly being drawn towards Sirius and James' Exploding Snap game. Alice was working just as diligently as Lily and occasionally exchanging ideas and questions with her. Remus, was also working on his essay and, like Alice and Lily, had gone over the asked length by at least a half a foot.

"I quit!" Marlene stood up, throwing her things into her bag and went over to sit by Sirius and James' game. "Marlene, it's not that bad. C'mon, Alice and I will help you." Lily motioned for Marlene to come back, but Marlene just shook her head and sat firmly where she was. "Nope. No way, no how, no can do. I will finish that essay later, but now is not the time." Alice just sighed and went back to her essay. Lily gave one last hopeful look at Marlene before turning back and finishing up her essay.

Lily was contentedly working on her notes for Herbology when she was smacked in the back of her head by a shoe, causing ink to run down the length of the parchment. Lily groaned and cleaned up the mess, mumbling something about how inconsiderate people were and that that behavior should not be tolerated in a school setting. "Hey James! Where's my shoe?" Sirius was on the other side of the common room currently on his hands and knees looking for his missing shoe, the one that had just hit Lily in the back of the head. Hearing this, Lily turned her head around and stalked over to where James stood, laughing. "So it was you who threw the shoe and the back of my head." James looked over to where Lily was standing. "I did throw it, but I didn't mean to hit you. I was aiming for the fireplace. You just happened to be in front of it and Peter knocked me off balance when I threw it. Sorry." Lily looked skeptically at James before using the shoe to whack him across the arm. "Ouch!" James gave out a cry and rubbed his arm where Lily had hit it. "That's for hitting me in the back of the head and causing me to mess up my notes. You're lucky I knew the spell to clean up the spilt ink or you would be hurting worse. Much worse." Lily gave James one last glare before tossing the shoe at him and turning back to her notes.

"Ah! There's my shoe! You found it James." Sirius came sauntering over and took his shoe from James, who was staring dumbly off into space. "What are you looking at, oh..." Sirius followed James' gaze over to Lily. "Man, I think you're in trouble. Redheads are known for their temper and besides, we're first years. I doubt she's going to want to date you. C'mon, we better get cracking on this homework." Sirius clapped a hand on James' shoulder and walked off to get his things. "Yeah. Homework."

The rest of the time before curfew was spent doing their homework, SIrius complaining for most of it and getting nothing done and James chewing on the end of his quill and staring off into the distance at a fair redhead. Sirius looked up at James and sighed. "Yoo hoo! Earth to James!" Sirius began to wave his hand in front of James' face, trying to get his attention. "Huh?!" James glanced over to where Sirius was sitting with a blank expression and Sirius sighed. Sirius began to pick up his things and headed up to the boys' dormitory, leaving behind a bewildered James. _I wonder what's up with Sirius._ James looked curiously after Sirius and then packed up his things, taking note of how little work he had gotten done. Sighing, James walked over towards the stairs leading up to the dormitories, knocking over someone in the process. The girl shrieked as James jostled her and he quickly reached out and grabbed her waist, breaking her fall. Looking down, James found himself face to face with none other than Lily. And a very red-faced Lily. For a second, he was lost in her beautiful emerald green eyes and then she was standing up and he was still staring at her bright eyes. "Thanks." James was snapped out of his trance by Lily's voice. He gave a shy smile and nodded. "Your welcome." Lily smiled back and then headed up the staircase to her dorm room, leaving James behind with a goofy grin on his face.

"Really, James? Day one of our education here at Hogwarts and you've already become smitten by a girl." Sirius walked down the staircase and began to pull a dazed James up them and into their dorm. Remus and Peter looked up as Sirius dragged James into their room and threw him back onto his bed. "What's wrong with James?" Remus set down his book and walked over to where James was. "James has been staring off into space for hours. And by space, I mean Lily." Remus laughed and waved a hand over his face.

"Isn't amazing Alice and Marlene?" Lily was bouncing up and down on her bed. Alice and Marlene laughed at her antics. It was only their first day, but Lily had already expressed her love for the school and magic several thousand times. "Yes, Lily. You've only told us every second of today and tonight." Alice looked over at Marlene and rolled her eyes. Marlene just laughed.

That night Lily lay in bed thinking of all the wonderful things she had learned and done today. Her last thought before falling asleep was how wonderful it was to be witch and how wonderful magic was. _I love magic._

Sorry this chapter is more boring than the rest. I just wanted to portray how I felt they acted and their personalities. Will hopefully have the next chapter up soon and will keep the story moving along faster. Please review!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns everything. I have some claim to the plot.

 _To RaeOfSunshine9- Yes their birthdays should be switched, I just wanted James to be older than Lily. And no, it cannot be your boyfriend. Sorry!_

 _To BookLover1182- I'm not quite sure when they will learn that James and Lily are bonded, but it will be sometime in the future. (Doubt that helps... Sorry). As I am writing this as I go, I'm not quite sure when I'll have them find out, but I would like them to find little things each year._

Please read and review!

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Their first week at Hogwarts went by fast and before they knew it, a month had passed. They were quickly settled into daily routines of classes, homework, free time and of course, food. Sirius, Remus, James, and Peter had quickly become great friends as had Alice, Lily, Marlene and Cynthia. They were also proving themselves to be adapt at their classes. Lily was an ace in Charms as Potions and easily passed every other class, with the exception of Transfiguration which often made her struggle. Alice was able to easily pass her classes with some work required, though every now and again she would break down in tears because she couldn't do something. Marlene was more lax and had often forgotten to do homework, but still was somehow passing all of her classes. Remus was, like Lily, acing all of his classes with no problem. Sirius was, like Marlene, neglecting homework, but still somehow, even more miraculous than Marlene's case, was passing all of his classes. James was a little better than Sirius, not much though as he often did his homework the class before it was due, and was somehow acing his classes, though Charms gave him a hard time every now and again. Peter, well, he struggled more than the rest of them and was barely making grades to pass his classes and nothing that any of them could do would help him to bring his grades up.

James and Sirius had made themselves known as pranksters within the first month, getting a whopping record of detentions for accidentally blowing up the Slytherin table one breakfast morning. Professor McGonagall was not pleased with the boys, Dumbledore, however, praised the boys for their adeptness at spells that were years above them. Remus was more studious and broody, often could be found in the common room studying or reading. Peter could be found following James and Sirius around relishing in their popularity, as they had somehow become popular among the first years' (most likely for their pranking skills and perhaps their good looks). Marlene could sometimes be found hanging around James and Sirius, but was often with Alice and Lily either attempting to study or trying, with no luck, to get Lily to stop studying and do something fun for once. Alice could always be found where Lily was and was either studying, reading or helping Marlene convince Lily to do something fun (they usually never succeeded). Lily could always be found in either the library or the common room, studying and doing homework. When she did have free time, it was spent reading or doing something educational. Very rarely was she found doing anything fun.

It wasn't that Lily didn't enjoy having fun, she was just very focused on her school work and was afraid to fail. What if they made her leave? What if they took away her wand? Her magic? She was deathly afraid of losing her magic and wand because it was the best thing that had happened to her and now that Tuny wasn't talking to her, it had given her real friends. So losing her wand and her magic would cause her to lose her home, her family, her life and she couldn't risk that. The only problem was that the others didn't quite understand that. James and Sirius, more James, would often end up distracting her while she was studying or doing homework by usually taking away from her. Lily would of course get extremely mad and begin to tell them off. James and Sirius would just stand there and laugh, James often noting how beautiful she was when she was mad. Alice and Marlene would also laugh at this because it was funny and then they would also try it, though they were never very successful as they weren't very good pranksters. Peter stood by often watching the boys while Remus would shake his head and go back to what he was doing.

It was one Saturday afternoon in October. Halloween was looming ever closer and the castle was slowly turning into a gorgeously decorated fall escape. The great hall had pumpkins now interspersed through the floating candles as well as bats (they were extremely friendly). Around the castle, there were giant Jack-o-lanterns, fake spiderwebs and spiders, and the ceilings in the hallway and the great hall were charmed so that fall leaves fell. The grounds were also looking more fall with the trees changing colors, a slight breeze dropping in now and again, and the occasional rainstorm which brought about beautiful displays of lightning. It was on days like today, where there was a soft breeze, that you could find many students outside strolling among the grounds. Lily, as usual, was inside studying and finishing up a Charms essay that wasn't due for another week. Alice and Marlene had tried desperately, and failed, to get Lily to got with them on a walk. She had politely refused them saying she was far too busy and needed to fix her essay. James and Sirius could be found on the other side of the room sitting at a table with their heads close together plotting something. Peter was sitting by them, listening and attempting to make conversation, but having no luck. Alice and Marlene had gone on their walk and had arrived back to the common room. After taking one look at Lily and seeing that she was still in the same spot where they had left her, they walked over to where the boys were sitting.

"Hey!" Sirius and James looked up from their conversation to see Marlene and Alice heading over. "Hey. You guys needing something?" Sirius scooted over to allow the girls to sit down. Alice and Marlene looked at each other before discussing a problem with them. "Lily is spending way too much time with her books. I know she doesn't want fail any of her classes because that would mean she would have to leave, but it's a little much to be spending all of your time with your books. Is there anything you guys could do to help her see that?" Alice looked desperate and Sirius and James just glanced at each other. "Well, I don't think there is anything we could do that would make Lily see that she doesn't have to spend every waking moment with her books, but maybe we could bargain something to make her spend time away from her books." Alice and Marlene glanced at each other and then back to the boys, perplexed. "What do you mean bargain?"

"We mean make a bet. Bet her that she couldn't go a day without doing any of her school work. It wouldn't harm her seeing as she is several weeks ahead, so it would be perfectly fine." Alice and Marlene looked at each other, contemplating the idea. "I think it would work, but quick question. It's Lily. How are you going to get her to agree and bet it?" Sirius and James turned to each other and grinned. "Oh believe me. She's Lily and she is in Gryffindor. She is going to want to beat us and prove us wrong." Alice and Marlene looked at each other worriedly. James and Sirius just rolled their eyes. "Trust us. She will want to beat us." Alice and Marlene looked back at each other and shrugged. "I guess that will work, but before you go through with it, can you tell us what you have in mind?" Sirius and James just laughed and shook their heads. "We can't tell you what we have in mind because it'll come to us as we are doing it. Only amateurs plan it out before. We are pros. Just watch and learn." With that Sirius and James stood up and walked over to where Lily was sitting.

"Hey Lils, whatcha doing?" Sirius leaned over the back of the couch to see what Lily was doing. "I'm working on my Charms essay Sirius, like you should be and don't call me Lils." Alice and Marlene giggled as Sirius made a pained expression. He then shook himself out and leaned back over the couch again. "Doesn't look very interesting." Sirius reached over and took the essay from her lap and ran away looking at it. "So that's what the Aguamenti Charm does? I thought it was just used for water. Eh, it's still boring." Sirius was standing on a chair holding the essay up above his head as Lily stormed over, fuming. "Oh hello, Lils. Did you want something?" Lily marched up to Sirius and held out her hand. "Give me my essay back now, Sirius." Sirius laughed and held it up higher. "Oh, Lils. That's not how we ask for things back is it. You should say 'please may I have my essay back'. Who knows maybe you'll get it back." Lily huffed and put her hand on her hip. "Fine. Please may I have my essay back?" Sirius grinned and laughed. "Nope! Catch James!" He then rolled up her essay and threw over to where James was standing. Lily turned on her heel and stormed over to him where he was holding her essay. As she neared closer, he began taunting her, holding over his head. "Why do you want this Lily? It's not due for weeks." Lily marched over and looked at him. "I want to get a good grade on it." She then reached up and took it out of his hands. "Oh, and it might help to be taller than the person you're taking things from." Then she turned around and stormed over to her couch to work on her essay some more.

Sirius, Alice, and Marlene were all leaning on each other laughing as Lily stormed away from James. "Man, did you forget that Lily is a good three to five inches taller than you?" Sirius clapped his hand on James' shoulder who brushed him off. "It's not that funny." Sirius just howled louder. "It is that funny James. You looked so confident and smug holding her paper above your head and she just reached up easily and took it from you. It was hilarious!" James just shoved Sirius off of him and walked off. Alice and Marlene stopped laughing to watch as James stormed off to the boys dormitory. "He's not very happy is he." Sirius looked after him. "Not really. If Remus were here he would be able to talk to him, but he's off visiting his mother who's sick." Sirius just shrugged and walked over to the table where he and James had been sitting at earlier with Alice and Marlene following. "He has it bad for her doesn't he, Sirius." Sirius sighed and shook his head. "Yeah. It's weird though. I mean none of the rest of us," he motioned to Alice, Marlene and himself, "are into someone, but he has it really bad and she doesn't really care. It's awful. All we hear anymore is Lily this and Lily that and I'm so sick of it I want to throttle him." Sirius made a choking motion with his hands and then collapsed on the table with his head in his hands. Alice and Marlene just looked at each other worriedly. Marlene reached across the table to pat Sirius on the head reassuringly. "I'm sure it's just a childhood crush and he'll get over it soon. Don't worry."

James was sitting on his bed with the curtains drawn around, brooding. _Stupid Lily showing off her height and how tall she is. Doesn't she see it's not fair to us short people._

 _ **Excuse me?! I am far from stupid and it's not my fault I'm tall.**_

James shot up from his bed, nearly falling out. Opening his curtains, he looked around and saw no one in the boys' dormitory, but him. He slowly closed his curtains and sat back on his bed. _That was weird. There's no one in the boys' dormitory. And I doubt I would answer myself like that._

 _ **Who are you and what are you doing in my head?**_ James could sense panic coming from the person on the other end, which he thought was Lily, but couldn't be too sure. _Why would I tell you who I am and what if I'm not in your head, you're in mine?_ It was quiet for a moment and James suspicioned that he had stumped the other person. _Ha! I win! I wonder who they are though. Sounds like a girl._ _ **I am a girl stupid.**_ _Yep, definitely a girl._ The person on the other line huffed in disgust at James conclusion. _**Could you please leave me alone, I am trying to finish my essay and it is extremely hard when you are floating around my head and annoying me.**_ _Lily?_ James jumped up from his bed, hitting his head on the top of his bed. "Ow!" James rubbed his head as he opened his curtains and then made his way down to the common room.

As he reached the bottom of the stairs, Alice, Sirius and Marlene looked up from where they were sitting. "Look who it is! He's finally come out of his hobbit hole!" Sirius threw his arm around James and pulled him over to the table. "Haha. Very funny, Sirius. Listen, I was up in the dorm sitting on my bed thinking to myself and then I heard a voice in my head!" Sirius, Alice, and Marlene stared dumbly at him before bursting into laughter. "I'm serious! It was there in my head talking to me. It sounded like a girl. It sounded like Lily." Sirius, Alice, and Marlene immediately stopped laughing at the mention of Lily's name. "Boy, he does have it bad. Now he's imagining that she is talking to him in his thoughts." Marlene looked over at Sirius who groaned and put his head into his hands. Alice reached up and pulled James down into a seat at the table. "I think that you need to sleep, James. There is no possible way that you could have heard Lily's voice in your mind. It's just not possible." Alice looked at Marlene who nodded and then hit Sirius who sat up and nodded. James sighed. "I'm telling the truth. I heard her voice in my head. It was loud and clear and sassy, just like her." Sirius groaned again while Alice and Marlene just rolled their eyes. "Look! I'll prove it to you. See! Lily is sitting right over there so when I talk to her through my mind she'll jump or look around. When she finds no one talking to her, you'll know that it's me talking to her through the mind thing." Alice, Marlene, and Sirius just rolled their eyes and shook their heads.

 _Hi Lily. This is James Potter. I am doing this to prove to Marlene, Alice and Sirius that you were in my mind talking to me._ James looked over at Lily and watched her. "I don't see her jumping with fright or looking around for someone who's talking to her." Alice was leaning over the table to get a better look at Lily. "You guys have to believe me! I'll do it again." _How's the essay Lily?_ Nothing. No jumping, no looking around, nothing. Lily Evans sat there on the couch diligently working on her essay. "But..." James was so confused. Sirius, Alice, and Marlene looked at each other worriedly and then at James who looked heartbroken. "James, maybe you should take a nap. You didn't sleep very well last night so maybe the lack of sleep is causing you to hear things." James sighed in defeat. "Yeah. I suppose you're right, but it felt so real and clear." Sirius shook his head and walked James up to the boys' dormitory.

"Wow. Sirius wasn't kidding when he said he had it bad." Alice nodded and then looked over to Lily. "Wonder if she realizes that."

 **Dumbledore's Office- Later that day**

Dumbledore was in his office rummaging through his library pulling books out, dusting off their covers, reading their titles and then putting them back. "May we ask what are you looking for?" The paintings of the other headmasters were watching him curiously as he continued through the vast library. The one of Professor Dippet, had brought up the question the other paintings were dying to ask. "If I knew what I was looking for, I would have found it, but alas, I have not stopped searching so I cannot tell you what I am looking for." Dumbledore resumed his searching of his library as there was a knock on his door. "Enter." Professor McGonagall walked in followed by Madam Pomfrey. Dumbledore turned around and for a second was confused at to why they were in his office. "Ah, yes. How goes it with Lily and James?" Professor McGonagall turned to Madam Pomfrey who pulled out a small book. "Seeing as I rarely see these two, I'm going to need to bring them into my office to do some diagnostic testing. I won't bring them in at the same time, but in order for me to get a good idea of what is happening I'm going to need to look at their vitals and see how they're maturing." Professor Dumbledore nodded. "That can be arranged. How about tomorrow? That sounds good." Madam Pomfrey nodded. Dumbledore then turned to Professor McGonagall. "I've watching their behavior in class and haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary other than James is constantly stealing looks at Lily which annoys Sirius, Remus and Peter. I have noticed also that every once in awhile James gets this frightened or shocked expression on his face and immediately looks at Lily who also will have a shocked look on her face, but it is more of anger. I'm not sure what this means or signifies, but I found it rather odd." Dumbledore nodded. "Excellent. Thank you Minerva. Poppy, I hope you will notify our two students of their check-ups tomorrow and I hope to hear more about their condition tomorrow. Depending on how matured they are, we will discuss whether or not to tell their parents so they can be on the lookout for peculiar things over the break." The two women nodded and then left Dumbledore's office.

"May we ask what that was all about?" Dumbledore turned around to face the painting of Professor Dippet and smiled at him over his half-moon spectacles. "That my friend was a discussion pertaining two of our students who are magically involved in a way that has not been seen for centuries." There was a gasp heard from Rowena Ravenclaws portrait. "You don't mean that they are..." She trailed off in utter disbelief while Dumbledore just smiled, his eyes twinkling. "Yes, Rowena. They are indeed. And I will need you and Godric's help in the upcoming years as I sense it will be difficult and hard." Rowena nodded, eyes brimming with tears of joy.

Sunday was fairly uneventful. Lily, as usual, was doing homework that wasn't due for several weeks. Alice and Marlene had begun to work on their homework, but eventually gave up and went to play a round of exploding snap with James and Sirius. Peter sat by and watched, like normal, and Remus worked on his homework before settling in front of the fire with a book. Lilly attempted to concentrate, but her mind kept flitting back to the confusing happenings between her and James. At least, she thought it was James. It sounded like James and annoyed her like James did so she assumed that it was James. A few times she had considered approaching Professor Mcgonagall or even the headmaster himself, but the idea scared her, and she decided that maybe if she ignored the issue it would eventually disappear.

"What's the matter Lily?" Marlene had returned to a colossal armchair next to Lilly and was studying her friend anxiously. Lily glanced up at Marlene nervously before looking back at her DADA essay. "Nothing." Her answer was short and clipped and Marlene knew she was hiding something. "C'mon Lily. I know something is wrong. You can tell Auntie Marlene anything." Marlene leaned forward in the armchair, trying to coax Lily into telling her, but Lily just shook her head. "Marlene, I'm fine. Nothing's wrong." Marlene just sighed and shook her head with a "tut tut." She was unconvinced but knew for now Lily's lips were sealed. "I'll be back" she warned before wandering back to the lively round of exploding snap. James had been completely enthralled with the game, his brow furrowed in concentration. Sirius leaned in his chair with ease, laughing obnoxiously with every explosion and directing several annoyances across the common room towards him. The game continued on until there was an explosion that resounded across the common room. When the smoke cleared, everyone looked up to see James and Sirius sporting some very singed faces. Once the shock had worn off, the common room burst into laughter at the sight before them. Both James and Sirius' eyebrows had been singed off and the front of their hair was quite black, blacker than normal. Their faces were also covered in soot from the explosion and they looked quite surprised at what had happened. After the moment of shock, James glances quickly towards Lily and was surprised to see her smiling and laughing, both which ended when she froze after meeting his eyes. A brilliant blush crept up over her face when she saw James looking at her and she quickly turned back to her essay. James gave a little smile as he watched her, thinking that she could never be more beautiful.

His attention was quickly averted from Lily when Sirius gave out a loud cry. "My gorgeous locks! My eyebrows! Gone, ruined! How can I show my face again?" He lept out of his chair and ran up the stairs to the first year boys dormitory. This reaction brought about another round of laughter from the common room and James just shook his head before following Sirius up the stairs, failing to notice the emerald green eyes that silently followed him.

By the next morning, nobody remembered the past days occurrence and James and Sirius were back to their normal selves, though Sirius would always beg to differ. The boys were sitting down eating breakfast and listening to Sirius drone on and on about how his glorious locks would never be the same. Remus was tempted to throw his textbooks at Sirius to get him to shut up and James was considering burning all of his hair off. "My wonderfully soft locks will never be as soft, ever. It's a tragedy!" "The only thing that would count as a tragedy would be the fact that the explosion didn't burn off the rest of your hair." James and Remus looked up to see Alice, Marlene and Lily join them at the table. Marlene gave Sirius a consoling pat while turning her head to the girls and rolling her eyes. "So, excited for the first quidditch match?" James asked quickly, eager to change the conversation. Sirius immediately perked up. "Yeah! Slytherin versus Gryffindor! It's going to be great! Too bad we have to wait till Friday though. I wish it were Friday today." Sirius' face had dropped when he realized it wasn't Friday. There was a silence among them as they ate and soon, there was the unmistakeable flurry of owls coming in with the daily mail. Lily looked up in shock as one of the school owls landed in front of her. She quickly removed the letter and thanked it.

 _Ms. Lily Evans. Madam Pomfrey would like to inform you that you are requested to come in for a quick check-up today before first class._ Alice looked over her shoulder at the note. "Didn't you get checked-up beginning of this year?" Lily nodded, slightly confused. "Yeah, but maybe there was something that she was worried about. I better go if I want to make it to class on time." Lily excused herself from the table and went to the hospital wing where she was greeted by Madam Pomfrey. "Hello, Lily. Come this way. I just need to check a few things and make sure everything is alright. I'll also need you to answer a few questions for me." Lily nodded and followed Madam Pomfrey over to a cubicle in the wing. "Now, could you sit on this stool for me? I'm going to do a few diagnostic spells to ensure everything is okay." Lily went over and sat on the stool Madam Pomfrey had pointed out. Looking around the small cubicle, she saw a desk with a folder. On the folder was her name, but it wasn't her name. "Um, excuse me Madam Pomfrey, but could you tell me why the folder says Mrs. Lily Potter nee. Evans?" Madam Pomfrey looked up from her tools to look at the folder on the desk. She silently kicked herself in the face before trying to figure out how to explain it without causing panic or confusion. "Well, Ms. Evans, you and Mr. Potter happen to be soulbonded, which is the reason why I called you here today. You weren't supposed to find out about the soulbond quite yet, but I suppose it may be better that you know. I will ask that you do not tell anyone and I mean anyone. This includes your friends, Alice and Marlene, and Mr. Potter himself. As I do the diagnostic tests, I'll explain the soulbond to you to the best of my ability." An hour later, Lily left the hospital wing and was slightly frightened. Madam Pomfrey had explained what the soulbond was and asked her a few questions about it. Her mind whirled with confusion, and upon entering class, immediately avoided James. She needed a moment of quietness to subdue her wild thoughts and emotions, and asked to leave class. Professor McGonagall excused her with a concerned and troubled expression. Lily raced up ancient staircases winding in spirals to the most secluded place she knew: the owlery. At once the earthy smells and soft hoots of the noble feathered creatures calmed her and she began to go over the past hour in her mind. "This can't be happening!" she thought, her first reaction denial. She barely knew James, so how could she have soulbonded with him? Madam Pomfrey had told her that she didn't need to know him to have soulbonded with him. Soulbonds happened because two souls were so similar or identical in her and James' case. When Madam Pomfrey had done the diagnostic spells on her, she had a seen a very deep rich purple aura hinted with bits and swirls of gold. Madam Pomfrey had explained that she and James' souls were identical and that they would eventually have one of the strongest forms of a soul bond. Part of Lily found the idea of having a soul bond comforting because she already knew who her soulmate was and didn't need to worry about finding the right person. But another part of her was scared, scared that it would go wrong. What if James didn't want to be soulbonded to her? What if he got married to someone else? Madam Pomfrey had said that the soulbond would make sure that neither would marry another person. She had explained the various stages of a soulbond and assured her that she was always there to help her as well as Professor McGonagall. At the end of her check-up, Madam Pomfrey had given her a book on soulbonds and told her to read through it and come see her if she had any questions. Lily rummaged through her bag and pulled out the book Madam Pomfrey had given her.

 _A Story of a Soulbond: Rowena Ravenclaw and Godric Gryffindor_. Madam Pomfrey had told her that the book would help her understand it better as it was written by a soulbonded couple. Madam Pomfrey was shocked to see that the book opened when Lily touched. When she had questioned why she was so shocked, she replied that the book had never opened for her. Lily opened the book to the first page, where she watched as writing and words formed.

 _Welcome, Lily Potter nee Evans. We have been waiting for you. Do not be afraid by the greeting, this book is charmed to only open to a soulbonded person and when touched by one who is soulbonded, will collect information of the person to better aide them. I am Rowena Ravenclaw, mastermind behind this book and soulbonded to Godric Gryffindor. This book will help you and your soulbonded through your journey and will only respond to you or your soulbonded touch. If you have questions, ask and the book will provide an answer. You will also be shown to the special quarters for the soulbonded and only you and your soulbonded may enter._ The book stopped there and showed a map of Hogwarts with directions on how to get there from the Owlery. Lily looked at the map and noticed that the room was near the Gryffindor common rooms. She voiced her confusion to the book and it began to flip through its pages till it rested on a page titled, _Secrets and Wonders of the Soulbonded Room._ Lily began to read with wonder, interest and amazement. She noted that the room moved to the easiest place for the soulbonded to reach. Because she and James were in Gryffindor, it moved itself to be by the Gryffindor common room. Lily looked up from the book to see the castle and made up her mind to find the room. She quickly shut the book and set it back in her bag before heading up to the castle. Most of the students were still in class, save a few older students who didn't have a class, so it was easy to walk through the castle. She didn't have to worry about running into any of her friends or James.

It didn't take Lily long to reach the room as it was right by the Gryffindor common room, but it took her a while to pinpoint its location. The Fat Lady watched her with amusement as she turned to one wall and then the other. The book had said that it was located by the Gryffindor common room, but not where to enter it. Lily reached back into her bag and pulled out the book. She opened it and asked it how to get into the room. It began to flip through its pages till it landed again at the _Secrets and Wonders of the Soulbonded Room_. Once there, she skimmed the page till she reached a passage that looked like it would describe how to enter the room. _The room is only accessible to those who are soulbonded. They need to only meet at the place where it is located to have it open. It is important to note that both of the soulbonded must be present to open the room._ Lily muttered angrily under her breath as she read the last part, slamming the book shut and shoving it into her bag. She wouldn't be able to see the room till she and James absolutely needed it and, for all she knew, that could be years from now. Turning to the Fat Lady she mumbled the password, _Hobbledehoy_ , and stormed into the common room, heading up to her dorm.

* * *

Thank you to **Anniec.k8, BookLover1182, Martyparty98, and RaeOfSunshine** for favoriting the book! It means a lot!

Thank you to **Athena'sRavenclawDaughter, HPotter25, Martyparty98, McAliceKatePotterGHShield, Naius Voren, PiscesS101, RaeOfSunshine9, and canterwoodgames** for following! Love you all!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns anything you recognize. The plot, that's mine...

 _To RaeOfSunshine9: No I am not Madam Pomfrey so I cannot tell you if you are soulbonded or who that person would be for that matter. So sorry..._

 _To BookLover1182: I'm not quite sure when James and the others will find out about the soul-bond, but I am thinking that the parents will find out soon._

* * *

James walked into the Hospital Wing slightly nervous. He had gotten his yearly check-up when school started and was confused as to why he needed another one now. He looked around the wing and noticed the long rows of beds with their white sheets all lined very precisely with a small side table that held a vase of flowers. Above the beds were huge windows framed with deep red curtains on either side. At the very end of the wing, James assumed there was a bathroom. To his left was a door with a plaque that read, _Madam Poppy Pomfrey- Hogwarts Mediwitch._ Just beyond her office was a small cubicle outlined with white curtains. It was here that his eyes were drawn as he saw a figure bustling about in them, presumably cleaning, but you could never be too sure. He had gotten a message to come here just after Lily had left Transfiguration because she was feeling ill. He found it quite weird that he was called here almost a third of the way into the school year and spent his walk down here imagining the worst possible things that could have happened.

"Hello Mr. Potter," spoke a pleasant but slightly frazzled middle aged witch who came bustling forth from the cubicle. "Right this way." She beckoned him over to the cubicle and James felt slightly more at ease with her cheerful disposition. As soon as they entered the cubicle, she closed the curtain behind them and motioned for him to sit on the stool. James sat and looked around, once again feeling perplexed and scared. He noticed a desk with papers on it and a folder that said, Mr. James Fleamont Potter. Madam Pomfrey was bustling about the cubicle piling up papers and organizing the desk. James watched her for a little bit, slightly mesmerized before asking why he was here. Madam Pomfrey looked up from her organizing and gave him a soft smile. "Just a little check-up Mr. Potter, nothing to be afraid of. Now, if you could sit nice and tall on the stool for me please." And so it went, much like the check-ups he had gotten from his primary care physician at St. Mungo's. She checked his weight and height before having him sit back down on the stool and casting some diagnostic spells. "Anima revelare." James watched as a brilliant aura of color appeared before him. It was a rich, deep purple and had swirls of gold mixed within it. James watched it, mesmerized and thought that he had never seen something so wonderful in his life. His attention was brought back to reality when Madam Pomfrey ended the spell. "Madam Pomfrey, what spell was that?" Madam Pomfrey looked a little shocked when he asked her this. "I've never seen it before and you didn't use it on me during my check-up at the beginning of the year." Madam Pomfrey relaxed a little and turned back to where James sat. "It was a spell to reveal your soul. The Headmaster had a question about you that pertained to your soul and asked me if I would do a quick check-up on you to ensure that all was well. And it is. I'm just going to record this information and then you will be free to go to your second class." Madam Pomfrey turned back to the desk and quickly filled out his form before sending him away and wishing him good-day.

James left extremely curious, very confused, and a slightly disappointed that he would make it in time for his _favorite_ class, Potions. Even though he enjoyed the class, he would have much rather missed it though it would have meant more work for him later on. As it was, it probably would have been better for him to miss Potions as his mind wasn't really focused on their task set before them in class. They were supposed to be brewing a Forgetfulness Potion with their partners and Sirius was getting more and more angry as the class period continued. "Hey! James! Can you help me here?" James was brought back to reality and noticed that Sirius was having a difficult time crushing their four mistletoe berries into a fine powder.. He was supposed to be adding the drops of Lethe River Water to their cauldron, but instead of two drops, had added five. Professor Slughorn had chosen that moment to wander over to their station and see how things were going. "Mr. Potter, I believe that the directions say two drops of Lethe River Water. Four would create quite the problem when you add the Valerian Sprigs. I suggest you dump that out and start over. 5 points from Gryffindor for what would have been an absolutely disaster." Professor Slughorn moved on from their station and James looked up to see a furious Sirius. James gave a weak smile before quickly emptying their cauldron and starting over. For the rest of the class, James could hear Sirius muttering under his breath about how he was going to "send him to the Hospital Wing to have him checked over". James sighed and went back to searching for the best Valerian Sprigs. He needed two of them and wasn't having much luck in finding any because the rest of the class had already picked through them. When he finally found two good Valerian Sprigs, he headed back to his station and added them to the cauldron. Sirius had eventually gotten the mistletoe berries ground fine enough and added them to the cauldron. James stirred the mixture 5 times, counter-clockwise, and then waved his wand over the mixture. After producing what he considered a decent ebony concoction, he slipped a side glance at Lily's cauldron. It was, of course, a perfect lavender hue and brimming with a sweet honeyed fragrance. Sirius had also seen the perfect potion and gave a hopeless sigh of defeat. James continued to stare in awe until meeting two penetrating green eyes, and hurriedly began to stir again until his potion was a sickening grey.

Later in the evening, after a hearty harvest stew and several pumpkin pastels, everyone headed to their common rooms in rowdy merriment. James had noticed that Lily wasn't in any of their classes, save Potions, and when he got into the common room, he noticed that she wasn't there either. He gave one more look around the common room before retreating to his usual chair by the fire and sat down, Sirius, Remus and Peter following to join him. James pulled out his Potions textbook and flipped through till he made it to the Forgetfulness Potion. He was still trying to figure out how it had gone wrong. He had put in the two drops of Lethe River Water and the two Valerian Sprigs. They had also added the two pinches of Mistletoe Powder before stirring it five times counter-clockwise and waving their wand over it. How then, had it turned out so bad? Lily's potion had turned out perfect, as usual, and Professor Slughorn had awarded her 15 points for having "an absolutely perfect Forgetfulness Potion that could cause anyone to forget anything with the smallest drop". Sirius was still quite mad at him for ruining their potion, which had caused Professor Slughorn to give the two of them extra homework (an essay on the principles of the Forgetfulness Potion). Sirius hated to get extra homework, though he hated homework in general as well, and told James that he better get his act together otherwise he was going to ask Professor Slughorn for a new lab partner. James knew Sirius would never ask for a new lab partner, but still vowed to himself to be more attentive in class. He normally was, but that check-up with Madam Pomfrey had caused several questions to pop up into his head. Why did she have to do the soul check? What did the colors of the aura mean? He had wondered if he could find the answers in the library, but had quickly decided against it seeing as he wasn't a big fan of doing research outside of schoolwork. It would ruin his reputation and he didn't know where to start looking. Maybe he would look through his personal library at home over the Winter Break.

James was briefly distracted when he saw a flash of red hair pass by behind him and head to the portrait hole. Glancing behind him, he saw the familiar locks of Lily Evans. Dropping his things onto his chair, he hurriedly ran to catch up with her. "Lily!" He called out her name just as the portrait hole closed. He ran over to the portrait hole, accidentally knocking aside a few of his fellow classmates. He hurried over to the portrait hole and opened it to see Lily at the end of the hallway. "Lily!" This time, Lily heard him and turned around. "What James?" She spoke coldly and her eyes seemed to narrow as he ran to catch up with her. "I was just wondering why you weren't in any of our classes today." Lily looked at him suspiciously. "I was in Potions and Transfiguration for a little bit. Why does it matter to you?" James ran his hand through his wild and unruly hair. Why did it matter to him? "Uh… I guess I was just wanting to make sure that you were okay." Lily eyed him suspiciously again. "Well, thanks for your concern, but I'm fine. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go see Madam Pomfrey." With that Lily turned and began to walk down the hall. "Lily!" She turned back around to see James still standing there. "What?" He ran his hand through his hair again, she was starting to get a little annoyed by that. "Uh… well, goodnight." She was taken aback by this and then smiled and gave him a small wave. "Goodnight, James." She then turned and continued on, not to Madam Pomfrey like she said, but to the library.

James watched her walk off before turning around and heading back to the common room. She had seemed different. More distant and a little cold and hostile. Maybe she was just stressed over some homework assignment not due for another three weeks. James shook his head and smiled before giving the Fat Lady the password and heading over to his chair.

Professor Dumbledore sat in his office, looking over the plans to remodel some of the older classrooms that were currently not being used. Many of them were old and in a very poor state, not to be used for teaching. He had just finished reviewing the plans when there was a knock at the door. "Enter, Poppy." Madam Pomfrey walked in holding two folders. One belonging to Mr. James Potter and the other belonging to Mrs. Lily Potter nee Evans. "Ah, I presume that you have checked-up on our young Mr. and Mrs. Potter." Madam Pomfrey nodded before heading over to his desk and placing the folders down. "Everything looks fine. They are maturing faster than would be normal for their ages, but I am assuming that it is due to the soulbond. I had the folder lying on the desk during Lily's examination and before it had only said Ms. Lily Evans, but when she walked in it must have changed. I didn't notice it, but she did and asked me about it. I was at first shocked, but then when I realized what had happened, I felt that I should explain some things to her, so I did. I also was able to give her a book written by Rowena Ravenclaw and Godric Gryffindor about soulbonds and it startled me when the book opened at her touch as I had never been able to open the book. So Lily now knows about it, but I told her that she was to not tell any of her friends or James about it and I trust that she will keep that promise." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as Madam Pomfrey spoke. Of course Lily would figure this out and she would have anyways without the aide of the folder. James, on the other hand, would most likely be bothered by it, but never actually try to figure out what anything meant. "I presume, Poppy, that Ms. Evans, or should I say Mrs. Potter, is most likely researching soulbonds in the library right now." Madam Pomfrey nodded. "She seemed slightly scared and frightened when I talked with her about the soulbond and I heard from Minerva that she didn't attend Transfiguration or any of her other classes, save Potions." Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully. "Perhaps it would be best to talk to Lily myself as well as Mr. and Mrs. Potter and Mr. and Mrs. Evans. It would be beneficial if Lily got to know Mr. and Mrs. Potter as I believe Mrs. Potter will be able to help Lily through this more so than her mother could." Madam Pomfrey nodded again before gathering up the folders, bidding the Headmaster goodnight and heading back to the Hospital Wing.

Dumbledore sighed and leaned back into his chair after Madam Pomfrey left. "Why them? It isn't fair." Dumbledore thought on this a little more before summoning some parchment, a quill and ink. He wrote two letters and then turned to face a bird covered in feathers of red, orange and gold. "Fawkes, would you please deliver these letters to Mr. and Mrs. Potter and Mr. and Mrs. Evans." Dumbledore held out the letters to Fawkes, who took them in his mouth and then burst into flames.

Mrs. Potter was sitting in her and her husband's private living room, reading the most recent news on Voldemort's attacks. There had been three attacks in the past month. All of them on small muggle towns and there had been no survivors. She and her husband had been working non-stop trying to figure out where he would strike next, planning strategic moves, recruiting new members, training the new ones, and of course, going out on missions. She and her husband had gone on several missions together, but recently had been going on different missions. The last time she saw her husband was a couple weeks ago, when they both had a night off. Mrs. Potter sighed as she looked over the news. It seemed impossible that they would be able to bring Voldemort down, but they were going to try and, if they had to, die trying. Her husband had been regularly writing letters to James explaining everything. She had been adamantly against it, but then realized that if anything went wrong on a mission, at least James would know why she or her husband had died and would hopefully follow in their steps. Mrs. Potter sighed and set the paper down. She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes, thinking of where her husband might be at this time. She had gotten the night off, but was unable to see if her husband had also gotten the night off.

She was quietly sitting in her chair when a burst of flames appeared to her right. She jumped out of her chair and spun, pulling her wand out, to find Fawkes, sitting on her side table holding a letter in his mouth. "Oh, hi Fawkes." She walked over and held out a hand to stroke his feathers before taking the letter. Turning it over, she saw Dumbledore's elegant writing spelling out, _Mr. and Mrs. James Potter of Potter Manor of Godric's Hollow._ She gave a small chuckle at the Headmaster's inscription before thanking Fawkes, who burst into flames again, and sitting back down in her chair. She opened the envelope and pulled out the letter.

 _To the parents of Mr. James Potter,_

 _Our school faculty and Mediwitch Madame Pomfrey have recently discovered through observations and diagnostics that your son is involved in an extremely rare and ancient circumstance. He is soul-bonded to another student at Hogwarts, Ms. Lily Evans, a Gryffindor first year and muggle-born. I'm sure that as a pure-blooded witch, you have some understanding of this rare magic, but I will elaborate further on this subject. A soulbond is a magical binding between two people causing their souls to mould into one. The soulbonded will ultimately have greater power, strength, and abilities that you or I could only dream of. The strength of the bond between James and Lily has been progressing rapidly. The two students shall remain under close supervision and care. At this moment James Potter is unaware of the soulbond as I was unsure of your wishes. Mr. and Mrs. Evans will be informed of this bond as soon as possible and I would be greatly appreciative if you and, hopefully, your husband would be able to have a meeting with myself and Mr. and Mrs. Evans in the near future to discuss what this entails._

 _I await your response and hope to meet with you swiftly._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts_

Mrs. Potter reread the letter several times, trying to take it all in. There wasn't a lot said there, but it was still a lot for her to comprehend. She sat back in her chair and just thought about it for a moment. From what she knew about soulbonds, James and Lily had a long and difficult time ahead of them and she hoped to be there to help them through anything they might need. She reached over to her side table and opened the drawer, pulling out some paper and a self-inking quill. She wrote a small note to her husband and then put both that note and Dumbledore's note in an envelope and gave it to Euphemia, her owl. "Take this to Fleamont please." Euphemia gave her a look as though she understood and took off into the night sky, leaving Mrs. Potter behind with her thoughts.

Mr. and Mrs. Evans were sitting in their living room, enjoying a few moments of peace as they had sent Petunia to bed. Mr. Evans was sitting in his arm chair reading the news for the day while Mrs. Evans was sitting in her chair knitting a scarf to give to Lily at Christmas. "Another gas explosion in a house. That's the third one this month." Mr. Evans was shaking his head. "You would think they would figure out why these explosions were happening." Mrs. Evans nodded, continuing to knit. They lapsed into another peaceful silence that was interrupted by a flash of red, gold and yellow. Mr. Evans gave a jump, throwing his paper down and Mrs. Evans dropped her knitting. Before them sat a gorgeous bird with plumage that appeared to be on fire. Mrs. Evans slowly turned to look at her husband who was staring at the bird intently. The bird cocked its head to the side and studied Mr. Evans and then turned to Mrs. Evans and studied her before hopping up onto the arm of her chair. Mrs. Evans jumped a little and studied the bird. It was carrying a letter in its mouth that had intricate writing. She watched as the bird leaned forward and deposited the letter in her lap. Then it hopped off the arm of her chair and over to the couch where it curled up. Mrs. Evans watched it, afraid and curious. Looking down into her lap, she studied the envelope. On the front of it were the words, _Mr. and Mrs. Evans of Cokeworth, England._ She turned the envelope over and opened it and began to read the letter.

 _To the parents of Ms. Lily Evans,_

 _Our school faculty and Mediwitch Madame Pomfrey have recently discovered through observations and diagnostics that your daughter is involved in an extremely rare and ancient circumstance. She is soul-bonded to another student at Hogwarts, Mr. James Potter, a Gryffindor first year. I'm sure that as muggles, you have very limited understanding of this rare magic, so I will elaborate further on this subject. A soulbond is a magical binding between two people causing their souls to mould into one. The soulbonded will ultimately have greater power, strength, and abilities that you or I could only dream of. The strength of the bond between James and Lily has been progressing rapidly. The two students shall remain under close supervision and care. At this moment Lily Evans is aware of the soulbond due to a change of her records at this school which she noticed. Mr. and Mrs. Potter will be informed of this bond as soon as possible and I would be greatly appreciative if you and, hopefully, your husband would be able to have a meeting with myself and Mr. and Mrs. Potter in the near future to discuss what this entails._

 _I await your response (please send it back with Fawkes) and hope to meet with you swiftly._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts_

Mrs. Evans looked up to where Fawkes was sitting and noticed that he was staring intently at her. She felt a wave of calm rush over her and smiled, then turned to her husband and handed him the letter. Mr. Evans read through the letter and then turned to face his wife. "Our Lily?" Mrs. Evans nodded dumbly. She didn't know what other Lily they would be talking about. Mr. Evans nodded and then turned back to the letter. "Dear, I think we should respond as soon as possible with times we can meet." Mr. Evans merely nodded at what his wife was saying. She sighed and stood to get some paper, a pen and an envelope. After, responding to Dumbledore and giving him times and dates of when they were available, she took the letter to Fawkes who gently grabbed it in his beak and burst into flames. Mrs. Evans jumped slightly and after seeing that he was gone returned to her chair and knitting.

Looking over at her husband, she saw that he was perplexed and confused and was rereading the letter for must have been the hundredth time. "Love, I don't understand it all either, but I presume that Dumbledore will explain it more to us." Mr. Evans nodded. "I understand that, but Lily's so young and I'm scared for her. She's my little Giggly Lily." Mrs. Evans nodded and reached over to take her husband's hand, comforting him and reassuring him. "I know, but let's hope for the best." Mr. Evans nodded and sighed, setting the letter down on the side table between his and his wife's chairs.

The next morning was quiet in the Evans household. Mr. Evans, as usual, was in the living room reading the paper. Mrs. Evans was in the kitchen making breakfast. Petunia was upstairs getting ready for the day. After discussing the letter they had received last night, Mr. and Mrs. Evans decided that they would inform Petunia of what was happening after they knew more. They both knew that Petunia would not take the news well as she was barely getting over her jealousy of Lily being a witch and her not being one. Lily being in a soul-bond would make Petunia's hatred and jealousy of her much worse and though they were sure having more information wasn't going to make it any easier to tell Petunia, they hoped it would help her see a little more into Lily's situation. In all honesty, they weren't quite sure what to expect when they met with Mr. and Mrs. Potter, but hoped that something good would come out of this and that maybe, just maybe, the Potter's would welcome their daughter into their lives like they would try to welcome the Potter's son into their lives.

Mr. Evans was slightly worried about this soul-bond and how it would incorporate Lily and this James boy. He wanted James to be entirely sure that he knew what he was dealing with. Lily, his little angel, was in a soul-bond with a boy he didn't know and honestly was afraid of. What if he was cruel? What if he wouldn't treat Lily right? Would he and Lily love each other? How strong would that love be? What other things would happen because of the soul-bond? When he voiced his concerns to his wife, she thought on this and then responded that it was best that they wait til Dumbledore told them everything they would need to know.

So that's how the next few weeks went. Mr. Evans occasionally voicing a new concern, or Mrs. Evans voicing a concern and both of them realizing that they had no power over this situation as well as limited knowledge. It was best to hear what Dumbledore had to say and to meet the Potter's before they jumped to conclusions and worried themselves sick.

Across the United Kingdom, in a place unknown to muggles, hidden in a cave, was a man. He had just gotten back from his shift and was cold, tired and feeling quite ill. It had been raining all day and he had had no luck in searching for the people that were causing destruction and filling people's lives with sorrow and fear. He hadn't seen his family since the last time he was given a break from the mission, a little under a month ago, and it was this mission that kept him from seeing his son off to his first year at Hogwarts. In all honesty, he felt like a failure as a father and as a husband, never being there for the important things and always being gone. He sent letters as often as he could both to his wife and his son, and was always happy when he received a letter back. It was the only thing keeping him sane on this mission, but even then, it wasn't always enough. Some of the other aurors had heard him cry out in his sleep or cry himself to sleep, but they were all young and didn't understand the pain of leaving your family, not knowing if you would make it back to them again. He was slightly embarrassed by his crying out as he was a leader in this mission and needed to look strong. The new recruits didn't say anything about it, they would just cast a silencing charm over him and usually let him get it out as there was nothing they could do. They weren't his family, they couldn't bring his family to him as it was much too dangerous and they didn't understand his situation. He was quite fine that they let him be when he was distressed. If anything, it helped him recover better and if anything, made him stronger. Having a family the he left behind to go on missions gave him the strength to fight, it was the extra push he often needed to ensure that he would make it home safe.

It was still raining when he got back to the cave and the inside was damp. He quickly hurried over to the small fire that was constantly lit and sat down by it, casting drying charms over himself. A recruit walked out of his cubicle and seeing him, gave him a little nod before heading over to make himself some tea. The recruits knew better than to question him right when he got back from a shift. He was a very thoughtful and strategic person and liked to have his thoughts in order before relaying information. As a leader, it wouldn't do him good to relay poor information, so he would mull it over, determine what needed to be relayed and how to relay it. Then, he would relay it to the recruits. His train of thought was broken when the recruit came by and offered him a cup of tea. He took it willingly and offered his thanks. "You looked chilled through to your core. Figured you could use something to warm yourself up from the inside out." The recruit gave him another nod and then headed back to his cubicle. He started to slip back to the day's events when he heard a flap of wings coming from behind him. Turning around, he saw his wife's bird flying towards him with a parcel in her mouth. She landed beside him and looked up towards him, motioning with her head to the parcel in her mouth. He took from her and smiled, gently caressing the birds plumage before opening the parcel. With his attention turned away from her, the owl flew over to where the treats were and began to eat, knowing that he would reply as soon as possible and would want her to return it as soon as possible.

He opened the parcel and reached inside to see to letters. He recognized his wife's penmanship at once and decided he had better read that one first. Unfolding the letter, he began to read.

 _My love,_

 _Professor Dumbledore has written to us about something wonderful that has happened to our dear boy. I won't disclose too much information as I'm sure you will want to hear it from Professor Dumbledore's himself, or rather his words. I know that you will be excited as I am._

 _I hope you are okay. The manor is very quiet without you and now that our little mischief maker is at Hogwarts, it is really quiet. I know you can't tell me much about your mission, but I hope that it will be over soon. I miss you. Our son misses you. The manor misses you. Please make it back safely and write back as soon as you can. I love you more than you can imagine._

 _Euphemia_

His wife's letter left him with a lot of questions that he hoped would be answered by Dumbledore's letter. There were some though, he knew wouldn't and couldn't be answered by it. Setting his wife's letter down on the table next to him, he reached for Dumbledore's and began to read.

 _To the parents of Mr. James Potter,_

 _Our school faculty and Mediwitch Madame Pomfrey have recently discovered through observations and diagnostics that your son is involved in an extremely rare and ancient circumstance. He is soul-bonded to another student at Hogwarts, Ms. Lily Evans, a Gryffindor first year and muggle-born. I'm sure that as a pure-blooded witch, you have some understanding of this rare magic, but I will elaborate further on this subject. A soulbond is a magical binding between two people causing their souls to mould into one. The soulbonded will ultimately have greater power, strength, and abilities that you or I could only dream of. The strength of the bond between James and Lily has been progressing rapidly. The two students shall remain under close supervision and care. At this moment James Potter is unaware of the soulbond as I was unsure of your wishes. Mr. and Mrs. Evans will be informed of this bond as soon as possible and I would be greatly appreciative if you and, hopefully, your husband would be able to have a meeting with myself and Mr. and Mrs. Evans in the near future to discuss what this entails._

 _I await your response and hope to meet with you swiftly._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts_

He reread the letter over a few times, trying to grasp all that it held. He couldn't believe it. His son had soul-bonded. He immediately began to wonder about the girl, Lily Evans. What was she like? Would she be able to put up with his mischievous son? Could she reign him in? He figured that since the two were a part of a soul-bond, this Lily Evans would be a perfect match to his son, perhaps even what he needed to calm him down and rein him in. He hoped that he would be able to be apart of the meeting with the Evans and quickly set off to find parchment and a pen, writing a letter to his boss and sending it off through a specialize Banishing spell. He then began to write the letter to his wife and another to his son. He told his wife as much as he could about the mission and that he had asked to be given a week break to go to the meeting with Dumbledore and the Evans'. To his son he sent him a little update of what was happening. His wife disapproved that he was sending him information about what he was doing, but he felt that it was better for him to tell his son than his son find out through another source that might not be as reliable because they weren't in the field dealing with the evils of the world. Having finished the letters, he gave them to his wife's owl and sent her on her way. No sooner had he sent his wife's owl off, he heard a small ping back in his cubicle. Entering he found a piece of paper and opening it, found a message that made him happier than he had been in a month.

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Well readers, another chapter! Sorry this one took so long. Things got a little busy between State Championships for Marching Band (we got 8th), Kids Helping Kids getting more active and me just trying to stay afloat amongst the millions of things life decided I needed to deal with all at once. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy and please READ AND REVIEW! Love you all!

P.S Thanks you to everyone who has started following, who has favorited and those who have reviewed! You are all the real MVPs and make writing this more fun than it already is!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize. The plot I have a little claim to.

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Mrs. Potter was sitting in her sitting room, exhausted. She had been at the Auror office all day filling out paperwork and overlooking the training of new recruits. She wasn't sure why she was so exhausted because it was only paperwork. She was only usually this exhausted after a mission, but she hadn't been sent on one in a while so maybe she was just getting out of shape. Bitzy appeared with a platter of tea and biscuits. "For you miss. You is not looking well. Bitzy thinks Miss is needing a break from work." Mrs. Potter sighed. A break would be nice, but with so many aurors out on missions for this and they she couldn't afford to take a break. They were stretched too thin in the office. "I would Bitzy, but they are already stretched too thin and have no one that could do my work." Bitzy handed her a cup of tea. "Maybe Miss could see if she could bring work back to Manor where she can rest." She thought on BItzy's idea. It could work, if her boss would let her and the break from the busy office would allow her to rest. She would have to ask him the next time she saw him. "That sounds wonderful Bitzy. Thank you." Bitzy smiled. "Anything for Miss. I be going back to kitchen to prepare little Master a gift." Mrs. Potter smiled as Bitzy disappeared. Jams had her wrapped around his finger since he was born. Bitzy would do anything to see him smile and doted on him like he was her own child.

Mrs. Potter relaxed in the silence of the evening and listened to the sounds of the Manor. Without James and her husband, things were very quiet and slow going around the Manor, something that hadn't happened in almost 12 years. She sat in her arm chair, tea cup in her hand, eyes closed, relaxing. There was a soft smile on her face as she felt the warmth of the sun coming through the french doors, leading out to her and her husband's personal patio. If she listened closely, she could hear birds chirping in the forest surrounding their Manor. She was so content where she was, listening to the world beyond the walls of the Manor, she didn't hear the door to the private living space open and a person come in. She was still unaware as he walked over to where she was sitting and stood behind her, a soft smile appearing on his face. The man reached down and gently place his hands over her eyes, startling her a bit and causing her to begin to put up a fight. The man gave a small laugh as she began to fight back. "Guess who?" He chuckled as she stopped fighting and a perplexed look came over her face. "Fleamont?" She lifted her hands up to the man's hands covering her eyes and gently pried them away. Turning around, she saw the face of her best friend, a man she had loved since her fourth year at Hogwarts, her husband of 33 years.

She stood there in shock looking at her husband. It couldn't be real, could it? He wasn't really here, was he? She rushed around her chair and into his open arms. He began to gently kiss the top of her head as she cried softly into his chest. "I can't believe it. You're here. You're actually here." He began to rub her back and smooth down her hair. "Shh, yes I'm here, love. I have a month off." Euphemia gained her composure and then began to kiss every inch of her husband's face. "Why didn't you tell me you were going to be coming?" Fleamont laughed. "Becuase I wanted to surprise you, love. Now, tell me more about this girl that James is soul-bonded to." Euphemia's face erupted in a huge smile and she led her husband back over to their chairs. "I don't know much about her, other than what Dumbledore told us, but I do know that we will get to meet her at the meeting." Fleamont nodded.

Lily was pacing around in her dorm room, a thousand things running through her head. _What if James' parents don't like me? What if they think this is my fault? What if James doesn't want me?_ Lily stopped pacing at this last thought, slightly shocked at the sorrow it brought her. No, James would like her. They were meant to be. She looked over at the clock by her bed and noticed that it was almost time for her to leave. Not wanting to wait the few minutes longer she decided to head to Dumbledore's Office. Her feet felt like lead but at the same time propelled her swiftly down the empty corridors until she faced the stone-faced gargoyle. With sweaty palms and a racing heart, she uttered "Licorice snaps," watching in dreadful anticipation as the statue slowly revolved to reveal a spiral staircase. With shaky breath, she began to climb, her worst fears coming back to her. When she reached the top of the stairs, she stood there at the door, and attempted to calm herself. With shaky hands, she knocked and a soft "Come in" could be heard. Slowly she opened the door to see that her parents, as well as James' parents were there, but not James.

Dumbledore waved her in. "Come in Lily. Please have a seat. Licorice snap?" Lily shook her head and walked over to where her parents were sitting and sat with them. Looking across from her, she saw James' parents and gave them a small smile, which they returned. "Now I assume you all know what this meeting is about? I hope my letters told you enough information to tide you over, but leave you pondering with questions. Now, before we start, are there any questions?" Lily looked over to see Mr. Potter eyeing her curiously. "I have one, sir. Would you mind introducing all of us?" Dumbledore chuckled lightly to himself. "Of course. Excuse me, Fleamont. I believe I have gotten ahead of myself." He turned his attention over to where the Evans sat. "This is Mr. and Mrs. Evans and their daughter Lily Evans or Potter. Mr. and Mrs. Evans, this is Mr. and Mrs. Potter. Lily, Mr. and Mrs. Potter." Lily inclined her head in greeting as did her parents and Mr. and Mrs. Potter. "Now, back to more pressing matters that are at hand. Mr. and Mrs. Evans, do you have any questions about the soul-bond?"

Lily watched as her parents looked at one another and then back to Dumbledore. "We actually have quite a few, but we think that they might be answered if you would explain the soul-bond with a little more detail." Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, forgive me. It slipped my mind that you might not fully understand the process and extent of a soul-bond. A soul-bond is not something that you can force onto any one person, it is determined by the compatibility of two souls and in the case of Lily and James, their souls were matching so perfectly, that they could not be without each other, thus the soul-bond. A soul-bond is made at birth and are rare in muggles and wizards, but less rare. At the birth of the second person in the soul-bond, in this case, when Lily was born, she and James' soul-bond was written in an ancient book, recording it and marking the start of the soul-bond, though it doesn't fully activate till the soul-bonded have had some form of physical contact. It could be a handshake, brush of the arm, anything. Once the soul-bonded have initiated the soul-bond, it will continue to grow over the course of several years and flourish until the two are fully soul-bonded. There is no written recording of a soul-bond, so nobody's exactly sure what goes on during the soul-bond. We do know that the soul-bond will forge a telepathic link that will allow them to communicate mentally as well as feel the others emotions. The will also be able to find their soul-bonded anywhere in the world. For example, Lily," Dumbledore turned to look at her, "please try this. I would like you to close your eyes and concentrate hard on James, Really picture him and search to see if you could find where he is." Lily nodded hesitantly and then closed her. She thought of the soul-bond that connected her to James and pictured herself following it through the castle. In an instant, she could see a golden chain winding through the halls of Hogwarts and she followed it. Winding, turning, passing by people. She noticed that they payed no attention to it, so must not have been able to see it. She continued to follow it as it went up the staircases and turned down a very familiar corridor. It went to the end of the corridor and to the portrait of the Fat Lady where it flowed straight through and then on up to the First Year Boys' dormitories where he was. There sitting on his bed, surrounded by Remus, Sirius and Peter. They were looking at something, a piece of paper and were occasionally writing things down. Lily opened her eyes with a gasp as she noticed James look up from the paper and around the room, as if he was looking for something. SHe felt the connection fade as she looked around at Dumbledore, her parents, and James' parents.

"I take it by your reaction that you have found where James is." Lily nodded and then after hearing a pause in the conversation, replied. "It was weird. When I concentrated on the soul-bond and James, I saw this golden chain that lead me through the castle and to the First Year Boys' dormitories. There I could see James with Sirius, Remus and Peter and I think he must have felt something because he looked up from the paper they were writing on and began to look around the room searching for something. Then he looked over to where I would have been standing and it felt like he could see me. That's when I gasped in shock and opened my eyes. I felt that the connection was lost and that he was slowly pulling farther and farther away." Dumbledore nodded, very intrigued at what Lily had encountered. "Can you still feel him now, without concentrating?" Lily paused and thought, then slowly nodded. "Yes, I can, but it's like a butterfly almost. It feels like a faint flutter. It's there, but faint." Dumbledore nodded again. "And Lily, have you by chance had any mental connection with James or emotional connection?" Lily nodded. "A couple of times. It was weird. I could hear his voice clearly, like he was sitting next to me or he was living in my head. I thought he had just decided to come bug me while I was working on my homework and so responded back, but thinking about it now, I realize that I didn't speak out loud. I just thought it in my head." Dumbledore nodded again and then turned back to Lily's parents. "Did that answer most of your questions?" Mr. and Mrs. Evans nodded. "It did, but we still have a couple more. You said that the soul-bond will grow. Could you explain that a little more?" Dumbledore thought on this and then slowly nodded. "I'm not sure how well I understand this, but I believe I could explain it generally enough that you would get a pretty good idea. I guess in some sense the soul-bond does grow in size because both Lily and James' magical cores will increase, but it was also grow in the sense that there will come a time when Lily can't go anywhere without James and James can't go anywhere without Lily. That it towards the end of the bonding process and it usually starts after both of the soul-bonded realize the bond. From what I understand, it causes the soul-bonded to need physical contact meaning that they would constantly need to be touching each other. As Lily and James are both in the same house and year, this shouldn't be too much of a problem. The only major problem is during that need to be touching one another, they would have to share sleeping quarters and a bed, which could be difficult as there has not been a soul-bond for hundreds of years so I do not know how we would accommodate that." Mr. and Mrs. Potter and Mr. and Mrs. Evans looked at one another as Lily turned a bright shade of magenta. Her face lit up as she remembered the book Madam Pomfrey had given her and the secret room that it had talked about. Dumbledore noticed her and turned towards her with great interest. "Do you have something to add Lily?" Lily nodded. "When I went in for the exam, I happened to notice on my health folder that my name had changed to Mrs. Lily Potter nee. Evans, so I asked Madam Pomfrey why and then she explained everything, or at least what she knew to me. Then she gave me this book, _A Story of a Soulbond: Rowena Ravenclaw and Godric Gryffindor_. When I touched the book, it opened and I began to see words fill the page. Madam Pomfrey could see that the book was open, but couldn't see the words, so she assumed that Rowena must have put a spell on it to allow only those that were soul-bonded to open and read the book. I've been reading the book for the past while now and learning more about the soulbond. Rowena had mentioned something about eventually needing constant contact and when I asked her why and how that would be possible, she began to tell me of this room that she and Godric made for any soul-bonded couples that would pass through Hogwarts. It can only open up to the soul-bonded and it is activated when both know about the soul-bond. It don't know much else about the room because she said that the room would fit the desires of the soul-bonded, so it always changed."

Dumbledore nodded as Lily finished and looked over at Mr. and Mrs. Evans and then to Mr. and Mrs. Potter. "Well it seems, that provision has already been made for them for when they enter that stage of the bond. Now are there any other questions or comments?" Mr. Potter spoke up. "I know that there are accommodations here at the school for when they reach the last stages, but what about during the holidays or summer break. I know that James will want to visit home and I am sure that Lily will too. Would they need to take turns visiting each house? Would they be able to stay apart for awhile?" Mr. Potter looked over at Lily who looked kind of pained at his thought. "I don't think staying away would be a good idea, sir. I don't know why, but I just have this feeling, and like this faint pulsing pain at the thought." Mr. Potter nodded and then turned to Dumbledore, asking for his opinion. "It may be that they shall have to trade where they stay. For part of a vacation stay at Lily's house. For another part, James'. I cannot determine much as the bond is still so young. Perhaps, it would be better to tackle that problem at a later more convenient date?" Mr. Potter nodded. "Now, I have a question for you about James. In my letter I said that I had not yet informed James of the soul-bond as I wanted to ensure you were okay with him knowing about this at such a young age. Do you want James to know or shall we hold off for awhile?" Mr. and Mrs. Potter glanced at each other and then to Lily. "We don't have an particular choice, but I think it would be best to have Lily in this conversation as well. We all know that James will eventually find out, but Lily, would you want him to be told now? This could cause the bond to progress faster which could make easier on you two or would you rather wait until you both are older?" Lily thought. They both were good options. If James was told now, it would get it over with and make things easier in the long run, but it would also be slightly awkward. They were both young, still first years. Maybe it would be better to wait a couple of years. But waiting a couple of years would mean that she would have to struggle with it on her own. And what if James got a girlfriend, that wasn't her? She would have to sit by and suffer through the pain of watching him. She didn't think that she could handle that, but she also didn't think that telling James now would be a good idea either.

Lily pondered a little more on the question before answering. "I'm not sure. I think it would be good to tell him now, but at the same time, that would make it hard and awkward because we are really young. But on the other side, if we tell him later, he might get a girlfriend who's not me and even though I know that it would never last, it still would be painful to watch." Mr. Potter nodded and Mrs. Potter looked at Lily with much pain and sympathy in her eyes. "Lily, dear, the reason we wanted you a part of this decision is because it will directly affect your life so we wanted to be sure that you were okay with whatever happened. I think that it would be safe to say that if you needed a little more time to think about it, it would be allowed." Lily gave Mrs. Potter a grateful smile and then turned to look at Dumbledore and her parents. "Could I be given some time to think about it? And when I've come to a decision, I could come and tell Dumbledore and then he could pass on the message." Mr. and Mrs. Evans nodded. "We're fine with whatever decision you make, love. It's your life that will be changing after all." Lily smiled at her parents and then turned to Dumbledore. He pondered her question a little longer before turning to her and nodding. "If you need a little more time to think it over, I believe that it would be acceptable. Just come to me when you have made a decision and I will pass the message on to your and James' parents or, if you would like, you could tell me and then tell them personally via letter. Is this fine with everyone?" Dumbledore surveyed the room and seeing that both the Evans' and Potters' were in agreement, gave a nod and stood. "Well, I daresay that this meeting is over. If you have any questions, I would be happy to answer them. Lily, take your time on this decision because once it is made, you cannot go back, only forward." Lily nodded and then stood to leave. She gave both of her parents hugs promising to write to them soon. "Just to let you know Lily, we will be telling Petunia soon. I don't know if this will change anything between you two, but we thought it would be best that she hear about it." Lily nodded and quietly said okay. She was heading towards the door when Mrs. Potter walked over to her.

"Lily," Lily turned around and face her. "Yes?" Mrs. Potter looked sad, but happy and Lily was confused as to why. "I just wanted to let you know that whatever decision you make, Fleamont and I will be completely okay with it. We understand that this is going to be a difficult decision for you and we want you to know that we will be supporting you the entire way. I'm already so proud of you for being strong through this and know that in the future you will make me even more proud. I also know that you will be the best possible match for my son that there ever could be. If you ever need anything, feel free to let Fleamont and I know. We already think of you as a daughter and would like to help you in the best way we can." Lily gave Mrs. Potter a smile. "Thank you Mrs. Potter. I have a feeling I might be needing that help. James seems like a trouble maker." Mrs. Pooter laughed. "Yes, James takes very much after his father and you and I should talk about the Potter curse someday." Lily smiled and told Mrs. Potter that she would like that very much. Mrs. Potter beamed and gave Lily a hug, which she returned gladly. She called out to Lily as she was leaving Dumbledore's office. "Oh Lily," Lily turned around. "Please, call me Euphemia." Lily smiled and nodded, before waving good-bye and heading back to the Gryffindor Common Room.

James was sitting on his bed with Remus, Sirius and Peter. They were currently writing down different nicknames for their dear friend Snivellus. They hadn't gotten very far and only had greasy- haired bat written. James and Sirius had come up with that one. Remus as paying attention, but had been really sick recently and was on the mend. James and Sirius had tried to go visit him in the Hospital Wing but were quickly ushered out by Madam Pomfrey. Peter was just there, enjoying the quiet time. James was thinking of a new nickname for their greasy-haired nemesis when he began to feel this slight pull. He looked around where he sat, but didn't see anyone pulling on his robes. James shrugged blaming it on his lack of sleep and looked back at their very small list. "I have and idea," James looked over to where Sirius lay. "Why don't we call him Snivellus?" James looked at him dumbfounded. "Um, Sirius. We already call him that." "I know, I know. We could just call him it more." James looked ver at Remus who shrugged, not understanding Sirius' reasoning either. Sirius, noticing the exchange between James and Remus gave an exasperated sigh. "Just put it down, James." James laughed and wrote down Snivellus next to greasy-haired bat.

Their dormitory got quiet again as the boys went back to thinking. James felt the pull again, but this time, it was stronger, a lot stronger. He could feel a person at the other end of it too and the person felt close, really close. James looked up from the paper and began to look around the room searching for someone. It wasn't until he looked at the door of the dormitory that he saw the person. "Lily?" James squinted a little at the image of Lily over by the door. She looked pale and ghostly. While he was trying to get a better glimpse and grasp of what was happening, she suddenly disappeared. James sat back in shock. Lily had disappeared into thin air. Could she apparate? James shook his head. No, she was only a first year and you weren't able to learn that till your seventh year. James shrugged and looked back at the paper only to suddenly notice that Remus, Sirius and Peter were all staring at him. "What?" James looked around at them confused. Peter looked confused as well. Remus was trying not to smile and laugh and Sirius looked concerned and slightly grumpy. "What?" James was beginning to worry slightly. Was there something wrong? Maybe he had food on his face or his hair was messy. Sirius sat up to get a better look at him. "Are you okay?" James was now really confused. "Yeah, I'm fine." Sirius looked skeptically at him, not believing it. "What?" Sirius looked ver at Remus who was really trying not to laugh. "You heard it too Remus?" Remus nodded. James looked between the two of them. "What?" Sirius turned back to James. "You began squinting at the door and then whispered 'Lily', almost as if she was standing right there." James' looked at Sirius, then to Remus and then back to Sirius, his mind reeling. "Maybe I'm just tired. I didn't sleep well last night." He looked at Sirius who looked at him skeptically and then to Remus, who was still trying not to laugh. "Really, I'm just tired. I'll be fine Sirius. Let's just get back to the list." Sirius nodded still looking at him skeptically and then returned to his original state on James' bed. Remus excused himself and went to the bathroom where he could be heard laughing. Sirius gave a small chuckle at Remus and James just rolled his eyes, going back to the paper and thinking of new nicknames.

Lily made her way back to the first year girls' dormitory, pondering the decision she was left to make. She was so torn. Both sides had their pros and cons, but no one thing stood out that made her decision easier. She opened the door to the dorm she shared with Marlene and Alice to see them sitting on Alice's bed talking. They looked up as she walked in, taking note of her perplexed face. "Everything alright Lily?" Alice scooted over and made room for her. Lily hadn't told her friends about the soul-bond at the request of Dumbledore, but wished that she could have someone to talk about it with. Her parents didn't really understand what was happening and she wasn't sure how much James parents knew about it either. The only other option she had was Rowena Ravenclaw, via the book Madam Pomfrey had given her, but it wasn't the same as talking to someone face to face. Lily sighed as she sat down next to Alice. "I'm good, just have a big decision to make and I'm not sure which one is better." Lily looked up at her two friends and quickly added that Dumbledore had asked her to not tell anyone until it was decided and resolved which made Alice and Marlene's face fall. "I'm sorry, it's just that this decision will affect my entire life and change it, so I need to keep it quiet, just for a while longer." Lily smiled reassuringly at her friends and gave their hands a small squeeze. Alice and Marlene looked at each other and then to Lily, telling her that she could always confide in them.

The school year passed by quickly and before they knew it, they were studying for their final exams, or at least some of them were. Lily was spending every waking moment reviewing and practicing everything she had learned during her first year. Alice and Marlene joined her occasionally, but could also be found goofing around with James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus. Remus would also occasionally join Alice, Marlene and Lily to study, but would be dragged away by Sirius. James and Sirius could be found in the common room or in their dormitory writing up plans for pranks or playing gobstones or exploding snaps. They were never found studying and when asked by Lily, Sirius would respond that studying didn't really agree with him and really cramped his style as well as interfered with his beauty sleep. James just shrugged his shoulders and noted that he really didn't ever need to study. It all came natural to him. Peter was usually just there, soaking in the energy, but not really participating.

The night before their last exam, DADA, Lily could be found in the Gryffindor common room studying her notes and looking over the textbook. Every glance to the boy's corner annoyed her, for they all lounged luxuriously, their minds far from studying. Alice and Marlene were also over there laughing at the boys' jokes and talking. Lily couldn't comprehend why they weren't worried about not passing, but then it hit her. They had grown up in the magical world. This way had been with them since birth and they had been working with it since they could talk and understand. It was this reasoning she gave Alice and Marlene when they found her, hours later, hiding in her canopy bed, crying. Alice and Marlene looked at each other and sighed. "Lily, you do realize that this is all new to us too, right?" Lily lifted her head out of her pillow to throw them a look. "Not as new as it is to me. You've all grown up with magic influence and seen it in action. I didn't know I had magic till my eleventh birthday and didn't understand how to use it till I came here." After a few moments, Marlene spoke. "I've never really considered it that way before, from that perspective." Alice looked at Marlene and nodded. "But Lily, you do realize that you are the top student in our year right?" Lily sighed into her pillow. "Only because I work my butt off studying. You all make excellent marks and don't study as often as I do." Alice and Marlene looked at eachother, then Lily and sighed. "Lily, the only reason we do get good marks is because you make us study. WIthout you, we probably would be failing. Or at least Marlene would be. I would study, but not as much as I do now." Marlene let out an exasperated shriek. "I would too study! C'mon Alice, have some faith in me!" Lily lifted her head out of her pillow and looked at Marlene. "Give it up Mar, we all know you wouldn't be studying if it weren't for me." Marlene looked hurt as Alice began to laugh and then shrieked as Marlene reached over and shoved her.

Lily sat up as Alice got up off the ground. She looked at Marlene and then Alice. "But it's not fair that you all have had this extra time with magic and had some idea of how it worked before you came to Hogwarts. I study all the time to keep up and ahead and then there's James and Sirius who don't study and don't work hard on their homework and are top of the year also. How?" Alice and Marlene looked at each other and sighed. It was going to be a long night. "Lily, James and Sirius come from very wealthy wizarding families. I guess you could say that they are like royalty. As a Potter, James has his wealth to fall back on as well as his dad's company, Slekeazy's hair potion. Sirius is a Black which is a very wealthy and prominent wizarding family. Both of them probably had instructors when they were younger that showed them how to do some magic." They noticed Lily's confused face at this comment. "But I thought doing magic outside of Hogwarts was not allowed." Marlene gave a small laugh. "It technically is, but growing up in a wizarding household, it's harder to track a child doing magic, so it generally goes unnoticed and if there is magic being done, it is usually overseen by the child's parents or in my case as well as probably James and Sirius', an instructor." Lily nodded. "So you had an instructor when you were younger?" Marlene nodded. "My family is also a wealthy wizarding family and it is very common for wealthy wizarding families to have an instructor for their child. I had an instructor from the age of 8 till I got my letter into Hogwarts. I'm sure it was similar for James and SIrius." Lily nodded again, thinking about this. "So, then you all had sort of a head start with your instructor." Marlene shrugged. "Yes and no. I didn't work with a wand. I was just taught how to not have random outbursts of magic, like if I got angry. I'm not sure about James and Sirius. THey could have gotten taught some magic, but it would have been with one of their parents wands or they would have been taught wandless magic. Which is in itself extremely hard." Lily cocked her head to the side and looked at Marlene curiously. Marlene sighed and looked to Alice for help. "Wandless magic requires you to be in complete control of your magic and to be in tune with it. Many adults can't perform wandless magic so it is very unlikely that a child could do it." Lily nodded, but still looked confused. "But then, explain how I was able to make things disappear at will or move things." Alice looked at Marlene and sighed. It was going to be a long night. "That's called accidental magic and stuff like that usually happens based on your emotions. If you are angry, an outburst of magic is more common because you are, in a sense, losing control. Being happy, calm, or peaceful gives you more control over your magic and would allow you to perform wandless magic to a degree. It could also be magic showing itself." Lily nodded and was about to ask another question when Marlene cut her off. "No more Lily. We have an exam tomorrow and then a week till school is out. Let's enjoy this while we can." Lily nodded and the girls spent the rest of the night talking about different things. Boys, what they were going to do over the summer, and of course, if Lily was ever going to tell Marlene and Alice her issue and secret.

Lily, Alice and Marlene were sitting down eating breakfast as the boys' slowly trudges into the Great Hall. Not long after, each of them were given a paper with their grades and scores on them. Lily, as expected, excelled in every class receiving mostly O's and two E's, in DADA and Transfiguration. James looked over his list and then glanced at Lily;s giving out a joyous cry. "Ha! I beat Lily in Transfiguration and DADA!" Remus looked at Lily's paper and then James'. "Yeah, but she beat you at everything else and royally so. Better watch your back James. She's gonna pass you on everything." James turned red as Sirius, Marlene and Alice laughed. Lily blushed and felt slightly disappointed that she hadn't beaten James in DADA and Transfiguration. Next year, she promised herself.

They were soon on the train and heading back home. Then saying last minute good-byes and promises to see each other over the summer. Euphemia and Fleamont gave Lily hugs and told her to write if she needed anything and invited her over, much to James confusion. Lily thanked them and told them she would consider before heading over to where her parents and Petunia stood.

Lily spent the drive back to her house describing the wonderful things that had happened Winter Break and then spent the rest of her afternoon, decorating her room with her Hogwarts things. Lily had never been happier and she could have sworn that she felt James smile through their link, but maybe it was just her imagination.

As she fell asleep that night, she thought of what she told Dumbledore before she left for the summer. " _I just don't think James is quite ready for something this big. Maybe in a couple of years. It's just too much for a first year."_ Dumbledore had nodded and told her to think about it over the summer, then sent her on her way with happy summer vacation wishes. Lily's last thought before falling asleep was how thankful she was to have supportive people in her life and how easy it made it for her. She only hoped that James would work with her when he found out.

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 **Hello all! I'm sorry that I kind of rushed their first year, I just want to get a move on into the more interesting aspects of their life. Anyways, thank you to those who have favorited and followed and to those who have reviewed! It means so much and helps me keep going and writing!**

 **Please R &R! **

**~ . .kids**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize… J.K Rowling does!**

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Lily sat uncomfortably upon the couch, conscious of Petunia's sulking demeanor and glaring eyes. Mr. and Mrs. Evans had just sat down next to Lily on either side, clearing their throats and giving each other knowing glances. Lily finally lifted her eyes from the carpet to the armchair across from her, where her younger sister was perched like an angry, ruffled bird. "Lilly," Mrs. Evans murmured, "Would you like to tell her yourself or have us tell her? Either way is fine to us, you decide." Lily forced herself to ignore her knotted stomach. She had known this day was approaching since she stepped foot from the Hogwarts Express, and although the thought of explaining her _magical_ soulbond to an older sister torn by envy and scorn for anything along _magical_ lines made her sick, she knew she had to face her. For a fleeting moment she wondered where James was. Probably sitting comfortably on a sandy beach on the English coast, she thought bitterly. Her father's patient eyes waiting for her response jolted her back to reality. Meeting Petunia's suspicious stare, she responded: "I can tell her." Her father gave a little smile and squeezed her hand.

Lily turned to where Petunia sat and began, taking a deep breath. "It all started beginning of last school year when I went in for a check-up. I happened to glance over at my folder containing medical history and noticed that instead of saying Ms. Lily Evans, it said Mrs. Lily Potter nee. Evans. I brought this up to the school's nurse, Madam Pomfrey, who explained what had happened and what was going on. I was in a soul-bond with another first year, James Potter. A soul-bond is something that only happens when two souls are so perfectly in tune with each other and when two should match each other perfectly, like a completed puzzle. A soul-bond starts when the younger of the two is born, so when I was born, and is initiated when the soul-bonded share some form of physical contact, like a handshake, but won't begin to "work" I guess until both of the soul-bonded know about it. Soul-bonds take years to be complete and there are many things that happen before a soul-bond is finished. I was given the choice this year to tell James about the soul-bond or to not tell him. I chose to not tell him because it seemed like to much for him to handle and it wouldn't be fair to throw something so life changing onto a first year, though that's what happened to me. His parents know about the soul-bond and my decision to not tell James quite yet and are completely behind me. Mom and Dad are also aware of the soul-bond and my decision and support me. You were the only one who didn't know, besides James, who really mattered because this affects you too. I know it's a lot to take in right now, but I'm hoping you'll understand a little more and will help Tuny."

Lily sat back in her spot by her parents as she finished talking and gave a small glance at both of them. They gave her a reassuring smile and small squeeze of her hand before turning to Petunia and seeing her reaction. Her face was twisted into a confused expression, and although she was brimming with questions, what blurted out first was "Just _how_ will this affect me?" Mrs. Evans glanced to her husband before speaking. "Petunia, as the soul-bond grows and increases, James and Lily will need to spend more time with each other which means he may be spending time here during a vacation. As you will be living here for a while longer, it was pertinent that you were told about Lily's soul-bond because you would be seeing it and it was better to explain it now rather than later, when it might be more confusing and harder to explain." Petunia sat in silence for a few moments. "Seeing it? How and why would I be seeing this _thing_ that pertains to Lily and not me?" Lily's face burned as she felt the scorn from Petunia. Her parents rushed to intervene before a fight broke out. "Were you not paying attention to anything Lily or us just said Petunia? The soul-bond will grow and increase and James and Lily will begin to need to spend more time together so James may have to spend some vacations here and as you still live here, you will see it and it was good that you should know about this. Clear?" Petunia let out an angry snort before jumping to her feet. "I don't understand this dumb soul-bond and I don't care about it either!" she yelled, before turning on her heel and stomping up the stairs to her room.

Lily's parents sighed and gave a sad look to each other. They knew it would be difficult, but they hadn't realized it would be this difficult. Lily sat between her parents feeling so ashamed and embarrassed. Why her? She already had enough problems to deal with, this just topped the cake and made her feel more miserable. Lily was taking deep breaths trying to contain what she knew was going to be the result of everything that had happened in the past school year and over the summer, but it was no use. The tears came and she let them come, sitting there between her parents, barely able to hear their consolation between her choked sobs. Her mother sat there, holding her, quietly rocking her and brushing her hair, while murmuring softly. Her father sat there staring at his poor little Lily flower who seemed to have grown up suddenly and taken the world on her shoulders. If there was anything he wanted to do, it would be to take her away from all and leave it far behind, but he knew that she would never be able to leave it completely behind, so he hoped that she could only embrace it and grow, stronger and better. He also hoped that James would eventually be able to help her with it as he knew that eventually, he and her mother would not be around to comfort her and guide her through her journey. He hoped with all his heart, that someday, his little darling girl, could find the happiness in her situation. He desperately wished for her smiles and laughter, the way her eyes twinkled when she thought of something funny or mischievous. But those twinkling eyes were gone and replaced by eyes that looked much too old for a 12 year old girl. This soul-bond had changed her and he could only hope it would be for the better.

Lily cried herself to sleep that night. It wasn't just because of what had happened that day, it was a cumulation of everything that had happened since she had found out about this soul-bond. It was the build up of emotions that she had been hiding behind a brave face for many months. As she fell asleep, Lily hoped, wished, prayed that things would get better, would become easier. Miles away, James could be found in his room, not crying, but feeling a state of desperation and depression.

The next morning, Lily walked down to the kitchen and found an owl sitting on the table, holding a letter in its mouth with a familiar seal. She happily took it from the owl and gave it a treat before sending it on its way again. She opened the envelope to find her second year list.

 _To Ms. Lily Evans,_

 _Please be reminded that you must board the Hogwarts Express from the usual King's Cross Platform 9 and 3/4 on September 1st at 9:34 a.m._

 _Second year students require..._

1\. _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2_ by Miranda Goshawk

2\. _Magical Drafts and Potions_ by Arsenius Jigger

3\. _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_ by Phyllida Spore

4\. _A History of Magic_ by Bathilda Bagshot

5\. _Beginners Guide to Transfiguration_ by Emeric Switch

6\. _Defense Against the Dark Arts, Grade 2_ by Quentin Tremble

 _... in addition to your standard wizarding equipment, as required in your first year._

 _All students years second to seventh are eligible for quidditch tryouts, which initiate shortly after fall term begins. Contact head of house for further information. (A reminder- any students with less than satisfactory marks and below exemplary behavior shall have all quidditch privileges withheld)._

 _We look forward to receiving you at Hogwarts next semester._

 _Draco Dormiens Nunquam Tittilandus_

 _Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts Witchcraft and Wizardy_

Lily smiled brightly at the prospect of going back to Hogwarts. It had become a very real part of her life, one that she wasn't going to give up. Lily put the letter back in the envelope and as she did, she noticed a small piece of paper. Pulling it out, she saw that it was a letter from Dumbledore himself.

 _Miss Evans,_

 _I trust that your summer vacation has been well and that you have pondered over the little issue we have at hand. If you would please, come to my office after the Welcoming Feast. I would love to discuss with you further your situation._

 _Best Regards,_

 _Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbldore_

 _P.S I do love Chocolate Frogs. Don't you?_

Lily sighed. In truth, she hadn't been able to stop thinking about her little situation, but that didn't mean she had an answer and decision made. She had made a pro and con chart about telling James and not telling James, but still was unable to come to a decision because they said the exact same thing and there was no way to figure out a decision otherwise. She pushed the matter out of her mind, or at least tried to, and showed her parents the letter when they came down for breakfast. Her parents promised that they would go to Diagon Alley the next day to pick up her things. At that moment, nothing could have made LIly happier.

James woke up to the smell of pancakes. That and the weight of Sirius on top of him bouncing him awake. "James! Your mum made pancakes! Get up!" James groaned and burrowed under his covers. For some reason he wasn't in the mood for getting up today. Normally he was like Sirius, up and bouncing around before the sun was up. Today though, he would much rather be in bed asleep.

Sirius stopped jumping on his bed and crawled down to where James was curled up. "You okay, James?" Ever since Sirius had shown up at the Potters' Manor this summer, crying and looking severely beat, James and him were inseparable. They would wake up around the same time, spend the day together playing Quidditch or Wizards' Chess or Gobstones, and then would usually collapse around the same time. Mrs. Potter had joked that Sirius and James were twins who had been separated at birth which only caused more mischief from the two boys.

Sirius crawled up to where James was and pulled his comforter from his face. "James, you okay?" James shrugged. He didn't know to be honest. He just felt tired, really tired. Sirius hopped off James bed and ran out of his room telling James he was going to get his mom. He came back a few minutes later with Mrs. Potter who sat down on the edge of his bed and brushed his ever messy hair out of his face. "What's wrong love?" James curled up and pulled his comforter back over him. "Tired." It was quiet as Mrs. Potter sat and brushed James hair. Sirius went back downstairs, leaving Mrs. Potter and James alone. Mrs. Potter put her head against James' forehead, feeling his temperature. "I think you've got a fever love. I'm going to call the doctor to make sure it's nothing serious." Mrs. Potter went downstairs to send a message to the doctor leaving James alone.

 _Great, of all the days to be sick, summer vacation._ James continued to grumble to himself about being sick, but quieted down as he heard voices coming up the stairs. "Yes, I felt his forehead and noticed it was a little warm. That and he's not bouncing around the house, bursting with energy." His mom and the doctor walked into his room. The doctor walked over to James' bed and knelt down. "Hey, bud. I'm just going to do a few diagnostic spells to make sure nothings wrong, okay?" James nodded and the doctor went to work. He finished a couple minutes later and walked over to Mrs. Potter. "Well, as far as I can tell, he's perfectly fine, just got a little fever. Give him some Pepper-up potion and he should be fine." Mrs. Potter thanked the doctor and lead him back to the floo before going back up to James' room with a Pepper-up potion. "Here love. Just drink this." James made a face and burrowed further under his covers. Mrs. Potter sighed. "James, if you want to feel better, you need to drink this." From under the covers, a muffled James spoke. "I don't want too. I'll just wait it out." Mrs. Potter sighed again. "Shame. Your father and I were talking of going to Diagon Alley today to get your and Sirius' things. Your letters came today." James poked his head out of his blankets and looked up at his mom. "You know mum, maybe I will drink that potion." Mrs. Potter laughed as James took it, then sent him downstairs to get some breakfast.

Lily was in awe as she walked through Diagon Alley. The Wizarding World never ceased to amaze her. All around her were mystical things, things she knew were real, but being a muggleborn, still couldn't quite get her head around. She was looking at wonderful little magical theater as her mother came by and pulled her away, saying they needed to go to Gringotts first and then they would get her school things. Maybe, they would even stop for some ice cream at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. This seemed to cheer Petunia up, just the teensiest bit.

Lily had just gotten her new robes, she had grown quite a lot, and was heading down to Flourish and Blotts to get her new books. Flourish and Blotts was by far her favorite store in Diagon Alley, well along with Scribbulus Writing Instruments. She loved the smell of the books and how they felt as she brushed her hand over their leather binding. She quickly located all of her new books and was heading to the counter to buy them when a boy rammed into her, knocking her over and sending the books flying. Lily shrieked as everything went every which way and she landed on the ground with a hard thump. The boy had gotten pushed backwards into his friend and they were struggling to untangle themselves from each other and get up. Lily pulled herself up and gathered her books before turning to where the boys were. She opened her mouth to say something, but noticed that there was already a women there, chewing the boys out.

"I've told you boys time and again that you do not run in stores like these. Honestly, you are no better than your father James and Sirius…" The woman paused and sighed. "Honestly, what am I going to do with you two troublemakers. Did you at least help the poor girl you two barreled over." James and Sirius looked down sheepishly and shook their heads. The woman muttered something about boys and James and Sirius giggled. Then she looked up and noticed Lily standing there.

"Lily!" Lily smiled. "Hi Mrs. Potter!" Mrs. Potter walked over to her, James and Sirius standing behind her in confusion as to how the two knew each other because as far as they knew, they had never met. Mrs. Potter gave Lily a hug as best she could with Lily's arms full of books. "How are you dear? Are your parents here with you?" Lily nodded. "I'm doing well and my parents are grabbing my robes from Madam Malkin's. They should be here soon." Lily glanced around the store looking for her parents and Petunia, before turning back to Mrs. Potter. " Wonderful. Well I'm so sorry about James and Sirius. I don't know what I'm going to do with those two boys. James was a handful by himself, but add Sirius to the mix and…" Mrs. Potter sighed. "Those two are just as bad or worse than my husband." She looked over where Sirius and James were, standing by a book that was looking at them sleepily. "Boys!" They turned around and looked at her sheepishly before walking over to where she and Lily stood.

"You two need to apologize for knocking Lily over." The boys mumbled their apologies, obviously embarrassed. Lily laughed and Mrs. Potter shook her head. "What to do with those two." James and Sirius looked at each other, still confused. "Mum, how do you know Lily?" Mrs. Potter turned back to where James and Sirius were. "We met her while leaving Professor Dumbledore's office. We were heading out as she was going to his office." James nodded, but didn't really believe his mother. Sirius was looking at a book on food. Mrs. Potter turned back to Lily. "Well it was nice to see you again dear and I'm sure we'll see you again later in the year. Take care Lily and remember that Fleamont and I are an owl away if you have any questions or need anything." Lily nodded and smiled, giving Mrs. Potter a hug before walking over to her mother.

Lily walked up to the counter and found her mom standing by there, looking at a book about home-keeping. "I've got my books mum." Her mom turned to face her and smiled. "Good. We'll get these and then get your school supplies from Scribbulus and then join your father and sister and Florean's." Lily nodded and followed her mother to the check-out.

"I can't believe you boys." Mrs. Potter herded Sirius and James along. "You two need to pay more attention to things that are happening around you." She quickly reached out and pulled Sirius out of the way of a stack of flying boxes. "Honestly, you would think you two didn't have brains the way you act." She shook her head and guided them to Madam Malkin's to get them fitted for new robes. Sirius protested a little, but gave in after Mrs. Potter gave him a stern look. "Sirius, you need new robes and if your parents aren't going to get you them, then I will. Up you go now." James sat by his mom while Sirius got poked and prodded. "Mum," Mrs. Potter turned towards him and attempted to fix his hair. "Yes, James." He pushed her hand away and rumpled his hair up, making his mom sigh in exasperation. "How do you know Lily?" Mrs. Potter brushed James' hair out of his face. "I told you James, we met her as we were leaving Professor Dumbledore's office." James messed up his hair again. "You seemed really familiar with her though if you've only met her once." Mrs. Potter tried to fix James hair again, gave up, then ushered him over to get his robes. "We talked for a little bit James, so yes, your father and I are familiar with her." James could tell by his mother's tone that the conversation was over, but he couldn't help but wonder how and why his parents knew Lily so well. His mum wasn't telling him everything, but maybe his father would tell him, he usually told him about things.

Lily had been up for hours making sure that she had everything packed. She had gone over her checklist at least 10 times and knew she had everything, but still worried that she might forget something. She was about to review her list for the eleventh time when there was a small knock at the door and her mom's head poked in. "Oh, you're already up. Wonderful. Your father has breakfast ready downstairs dear." Her mother left to wake up Petunia and Lily put down her list, heading down for breakfast. It was futile to constantly check to make sure she had everything when she did have everything packed and ready to go. Petunia came down the stairs grumbling about how she shouldn't have to get up as it was Lily who was leaving, not her and she didn't really care. Lily had gotten used to these little insults, but it still hurt her to see that her best friend and her sister could just suddenly become this person she never knew. She quickly finished her breakfast and went back upstairs to double check, for the eleventh time, that she had everything and bring her luggage downstairs.

James had been up and bounding around the house for the past hour. Mr. and Mrs. Potter were trying to ignore their son and were partially dozing in their bed. It was ended quite abruptly when Sirius decided he would get up and join James and they decided to race their brooms in the house, knocking over a lamp that Mrs. Potter wasn't particularly fond of. The Potters eventually got up and made the boys breakfast. Mrs. Potter asked both boys if they had everything packed and ready, only to get sheepish looks from both boys. She groaned and put her head in her hands muttering how they were exactly like her husband. "Well the apple doesn't fall far from the tree now, love does it?" Fleamont winked at James and Sirius who laughed, causing Euphemia to groan and shake her head. She sent the boys back up to their rooms telling them to hurry and pack, but knowing that she would have to intervene and make them pack.

After much hustling and bustling, the boys were finally ready to go. "Come on boys. Into the car, quickly now." James climbed into the car behind his father, Sirius hung back, wary of the muggle object. "Oh, come on Sirius. It's not dangerous

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Despite already encountering the splendor of Platform Nine and Three-Quarters the year previous, Lily could not help but release a sigh of wonder at the scene before her. A loud whistle emanating from the gold and cherry train mixed with the incessant buzz of voices, families sharing their parting goodbyes, students calling to friends, and parents instructing to write, and in some cases, stay out of mischief this year. Through the fog and array of travelling cloaks, suitcases, and caged creatures Lily spotted the face that had entered her thoughts frequently all summer. James, laughing uncontrollably at a remark from Sirius, stood with his parents close to the engine. Lily noted the absence of Sirius' parents, Mr. and Mrs. Black, and the wide berth between the boy and his other siblings at the station. Her mother's voice awakened her from her observations.

"Well, this is it, Lily." Her father gave her hand a squeeze accompanied with a warm smile. "We will be supporting you, just a letter away. Dumbledore also offered free visits to the school whenever necessary," she continued. Lily forced herself to calm the sudden feeling of panic rising in her throat. She would need to be brave, and panicking was not allowed. "Thank you, mum and dad." She hugged them longer than usual, burying her face into the warm fuzz of their cloaks. When she pulled apart, a grin was spreading across her previously solemn face. She was going back to Hogwarts, her second home, and the excitement was beginning to sink in full force. The whistle warned of soon departure, and Jily gave her final goodbyes before joining the flurry of students hastening towards the train.

"Good job, Peter," Sirius said, clapping the small boy upon his back. "You saved us a compartment before those first years got any ideas of stealing our seats." James smiled, casting a glance towards the children running through the corridors in search of friends and spaces to sit, enjoying the new status as a second year. "Glad to see no one has had a personality change over the summer," Remus grinned, biting into an apple meant for his lunch later. "Same to you," Sirius retorted, his twinkling eyes contradicting his annoyed tone. "We have loads to spill about the Holiday, don't we James?" he said, settling into his seat with arms behind his head and feet resting on the seats opposite. "What? Oh, yes, loads of fun and conniving. Wait till you hear some of the gigs we have ready to pull this year." James was rather proud of his recovery, for he had been only partially paying attention to their conversation. His eyes had caught the swish of red hair from a certain Lily Evans in the outside corridor. Whenever he glimpsed her, he felt an unsettled perplexity, his mind wandering to her and his parents too-familiar meeting in Diagon Alley. He knew that there was a different reason to how his parents and Lily knew each other, he just wondered why they wouldn't tell him the real reason.

"James, oi mate!" James was brought back to reality as Sirius knocked the side of his head. "Yeah?" Sirius looked over at Remus, who shrugged. "You've been acting strange, you sure you're okay?" James nodded. "Just thinking. Hey, I've got a question for you all." Sirius rolled his eyes. "So, Sirius and I ran into Lily at Diagon Alley and the weird thing was my parents knew her, but they honestly shouldn't because she's a muggle-born, we're purebloods, and I've never mentioned her at home. Yet they seemed fairly familiar with each other. And get this, my mom said that they had bumped into each other outside of Dumbledore's office. I'm pretty sure that's a lie and I really want to know how they actually know each other, but neither of my parents will tell me and I doubt Lily will." Sirius rolled his eyes and looked over at Remus who shrugged. "I don't know James. Maybe that's the truth." James shook his head. They didn't understand. "No, they're lying. Sirius was there. He saw how my mom got all defensive when I asked her." "Well, you had been pestering her about it James, so I think she had a right to be defensive. Just let it go mate. It's probably as your mom said." James looked around at Sirius and Remus. How could they say that?

James slumped back down in his seat. "Whatever. There's something up and I'm going to find out what's going on." Sirius and Remus looked at each other and rolled their eyes. James could be so dramatic. "And I thought I was the dramatic one." Sirius mumbled under his breath. James looked up. "What Sirius?" Sirius looked up at James, over to Remus who was struggling, trying not to laugh and shook his head. "Nothing, mate." The rest of the ride to Hogwarts was silent.

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 **And there's chapter 7! I'm so sorry it took so long for this one! I've had finals and I'm dealing with college stuff because I'm a senior in high school so college is happening next year and my life has been extremely hectic. On another note, I should mention that one of my dear friends has been helping me write when she can and I appreciate her so.**

 **Huge thank you to Sakura Lisel, Skoliver4ever, Lizairy Cullen, Milou Milou, krishna-kalki, Ijustwantyoutoknow, christina768594, trygger, aldigomez2, Sinner27, Meirionna, and rileylana16 for following or favoriting this story. It means so much!**

 **Rileylana, Booklover1182, RaeOfSunshine9, and Meirionna: Thanks so much for your reviews! They mean a lot!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns anything you recognize...**

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James Potter had a plan. Albeit it was a stupid plan, but a plan none the less. Remus had told him that this plan wasn't going to work. Sirius, even told him the plan wasn't going to work, James suspected that he had been bribed by Remus. Peter had no opinion, just food. James' plan when a little like this. He was going to get to know Lily and to get to know Lily, he had to be nice to her. So he planned to be nice to her, though his version of nice wasn't really nice, more strangely creepy to a girl. It was a nice where you looked at someone and went, "okay?", but a nice nonetheless.

He put his plan to action that morning at breakfast, managing to find himself a spot next to Lily Evans that had belonged to her roommate Marlene. He seemed oblivious to her annoyed expression and dug in heartily to the bounty of food before him. After quenching his hunger, he inwardly debated how to start the conversation. Flattery, a compliment? He was just about to open his mouth when someone came up behind him and thunked him across the head with their Potions book. "You're in my seat, John." James forgot that Marlene was not to be messed with in the morning. "It's James," he stressed while rubbing the back of his head. Alice muffled a laugh from where she was sitting on the other side of Lily. James sighed, but didn't move, getting another whack across the back of his head. "Did you not hear me properly Joe? I said you were in my seat!" Alice and Lily were both now trying to muffle their laughter as James was rubbing the back of his head, grimacing. He turned around to face Marlene. "I know Mars, but I decided that today I wanted to sit by my good friend Lily." He turned back to his food leaving Marlene dumbfounded. She whacked him again with her Potions book. "What is your problem woman?!" Marlene just whacked him again. By this time, Lily and Alice were laughing and crying, holding their sides. Sirius was also laughing and Remus was shaking his head, barely able to contain his laughter. Peter, he was eating.

Marlene pulled out her wand and levitated James to the other side of the Gryffindor table, before taking her seat beside Lily, who may or may not have been dying from laughter. "First, my name isn't Mars, it's Marlene. Secondly, you and Lily aren't dear friends, more like frenemies. And lastly," she whipped out her wand and quickly pointed it at James' face, who gulped as the table went silent. "You sit in my seat again and you're asking for a hex and believe me, Lily has taught me hexes that we shouldn't know till our fourth or fifth year. So watch it Potter." She sat down and put her wand away, beginning to eat. The table was still quiet and when she looked up, everyone was staring at her. "Oh give me a break people. It's inhumane to be up at this hour and I haven't had coffee." When they continued to stare at her she got a little angry. "Go, shoo. Back to eating." Everyone slowly turned back to their food and Lily and Alice were trying once again to muffle their laughter. It was going to be an eventful year.

Despite the morning's events, James was not in the least bit disheartened. He even whistled as the four trooped through the stingy dungeons towards potions, a class that would have crushed almost anyone's spirits. Sirius sighed. "James, mate, you gotta stop with the whistling. It's Potions... Why are we happy about Potions?" James just smiled and kept whistling as they entered the classroom and went to their tables. He perked up a little as Lily, Marlene and Alice entered the classroom and went to their table. Remus and Sirius turned to James. "Mate, you aren't doing anything in Potions. Slughorn hates us already and we don't need to begin the year by losing a ton of points." James sighed. "Fine."

Slughorn entered the room and the class quickly fell silent. "Welcome back to Potions. This year we will be working on several potions of higher complexity involving much concentration and caution." His warning eyes wandered to the four boys, who bore almost sickeningly innocent expressions. "Now, I must stress to all of you that these Potions that we will be learning this year will be the basis for potions on your OWLS and NEWTS, so it is of utmost importance that you pay attention." His eyes wandered once again to the four boys. "Now, today we will begin with a potion that isn't too complex, but will still require your utmost attention to the ingredients and the directions. The instructions are on the board. You have the rest of the class period and I expect a sample from each of you at the end of the period."

Lily opened her textbook and quickly looked over the Sleeping Draught potion before going to the cupboard to gather her materials. James saw her walking over there and quickly followed suit, not looking at what the potion required. Remus hissed after James. "James, did you even look at the potion?" James didn't listen. He got over to the cupboard and pulled out salamander blood, a bezoar and some other random ingredients. Lily looked over at him and scoffed. "Did you even read the potion James?" She shook her head and walked away as he quickly shoved the ingredients he got out back in and walked back to his table to read through the potion. "Smooth James very smooth." Sirius laughed and Remus shook his head. Peter was eating food. "Quiet Sirius, or you might get a face full of flobberworm mucus," James threatened, concentrating on the book before him.

Surprisingly, the boys began brewing their potions without first playing with or throwing around the ingredients. James became intent upon his cauldron, not even joining the casual banter of the others, determined to impress Lily with a perfect sleeping drought. Lily, on the other side of the classroom, was dutifully making her own potion, paying close attention to every instruction. Slughorn was making his usual rounds about the classroom, surveying their potions. "Severus, excellent potion." Severus smiled, or as much as he could. He grimaced less. "Thank you sir." James didn't even stop to make a joke about ol' Snivellus, he was so intent on the potion, maybe a little too intent. Slughorn walked by the boys table. "Remus, excellent as usual. How's your mother doing? She feeling any better?" Remus squirmed a little. "Thank you sir. She's doing okay. I'm going to visit her in a little bit." Slughorn nodded and turned to Sirius. "A little too much Valerian Sprigs, Sirius, but a very fine potion." Sirius nodded. "Um... good effort, Peter. Is that a cupcake in your potion?" Slughorn leaned over Peter' cauldron to investigate further as did Peter. When Peter saw the cupcake, he quickly reached in and grabbed it out, taking a huge bite as he did so. Slughorn gasped as he did so. "Oh my." Peter looked at Slughorn, then the cupcake, back to Slughorn, then slowly to the cauldron, then back to the cupcake, realization hitting him. Then he promptly passed out. Slughorn stood over Peter. "Oh my. Well at least we know his potion worked. Remus, take him to Madam Pomfrey please." Remus nodded and levitated Peter out of the potions classroom.

Slughorn watched as Remus left then walked over to James' potion. "James. Very impressive." James nodded and thanked Professor Slughorn, wiping sweat off his face as he did so. He glanced over to Lily as Slughorn walked over there, not paying attention to how many stirs. Slughorn was just leaning over to inspect Lily's potion when a loud eruption shook the classroom. Shocked, everyone stopped what they were doing to look over at the explosion. There, stood a very burnt and blackened James and Sirius who were both passed out on the floor. "Oh dear. Three in one day. Oh dear." Slughorn directed another student to take James and Sirius to Madam Pomfrey. They left just as Remus walked back in, his face etched with confusion. "One turn to many," a student grimly informed him, who had a table behind James and witnessed the cause of the explosion. Remus sighed. Just as the year was beginning to look better and improved from the last, they hadn't been able to make it through one class without the usual injury and mishap. "Perhaps it would be wise to release you all early to your lunch period," Slughorn spoke. "Madame Pomfrey will run out of cots." The mood instantly lightened as the students quickly gathered their books and rushed from the hazy classroom. Remus got a glance of Lily's face, and thought he noted pity in her eyes. He shook his head in confusion, the day could not get any weirder.

The class headed out to lunch, all of them buzzing about the spectacular explosion that James had caused. Lily looked over at Remus who looked lonely without all of his mates. She, Alice and Marlene sat at their usual spots and Remus sat across from them. "You okay Remus?" Remus looked up at Lily and smiled. She was always so caring, kind and compassionate. "As okay as one can be when all their friends are spending the day with Madam Pomfrey." Lily laughed, pulling out her History of Magic textbook. "Lily!" Lily looked up at Marlene. "What?" "Get that infernal thing off the table before I "accidentally" spill food on it." Lily stuck her tongue out at Marlene and moved her book to the other side of her. Alice looked over at Lily's History of Magic book and was puzzled. "Lily, where are the words?" Lily looked up at Alice and blushed. "Oh, I was trying out a spell that would only allow me to read the textbook and it worked. I haven't figured out how to remove it yet." Alice sighed and shook her head. Typical Lily. Lily sighed with relief. How she managed to come up with an excuse so quickly she didn't know, but there was no way that she could tell her friends about this bond quite yet. They wouldn't understand and plus it was James Potter for crying out loud. If they heard about the bond, she'd never live it down. James was easily one of the best looking guys at Hogwarts and he was only a second year. Many of the girls wondered what he would look like once he was in seventh year, probably drop dead gorgeous. All the gossip about James' looks made Lily sick, not with jealously, but with the fact that this dimbo was her soul-mate and she'd have to put up with him for the rest of her life whereas the girls gossiping about James wouldn't. Lily sighed. Life wasn't fair.

Madam Pomfrey was bustling about the sleeping boys, muttering under her breath. "Of course it's these three. They've been nothing but trouble since they first walked through those doors last year. I've seen enough of them to last me a lifetime and more."

"Now Poppy, you don't really mean that do you?" Madam Pomfrey turned around to see Dumbledore standing behind her, his eyes twinkling and chuckling slightly. Pomfrey sighed. Dumbledore, as usual, was right. She was like a mother to all the Hogwarts' children and it was her duty to get a little angry at their stupid antics every once in awhile. "Mrs. Potter has sent me a letter, informing me of her very curious son. Apparently he wants to know how Lily and his parents know each other so well, but per Lily's request, Mrs. Potter didn't tell him. I can expect that young Mr. Potter here will probably be in here a lot more as Mr. Lupin has informed me of his plan to break Lily. That poor boy won't know what hit him." Dumbledore chuckled to himself as he watched over the sleeping form of James. Madam Pomfrey only sighed and went back to casting diagnostic spells on the three boys. It was going to be a long year.

"Oh come on, Lily. You have to admit it was pretty funny." Lily gave a frustrated sigh. "No, it was not funny. It was completely irresponsible and stupid of him to stop paying attention to his potion, so yes he did deserve what happened to him." Alice and Marlene shared a glance with each other. Lily glanced up at them. "What?" Alice and Marlene quickly shook their heads. "Nothing." Lily looked at them strangely, then went back to her homework, even though it wasn't due for several more weeks.

Later that night, Lily was lying in her four poster bed with the curtains drawn, reading the soulbond book. It was more just going through and rereading information as some of it couldn't be attained until the bond between her and James grew, but there was no way she was going to tell James about it quite yet. His display this morning and during Potions was enough to prove to Lily that he just couldn't and wouldn't be able to handle it. So, Lily had taken to having small conversations with Rowena about soulbonds through the book. She had learned more about Rowena's bond to Godric so she was sorta prepared for what could happen when her bond with James grew.

Sighing, she wished Rowena a goodnight and set the book on her bedside table, turning off her lamp and going to bed. This bond business was more stressful and irksome than she had realized. But she was relieved to find out that even if James dated other girls, he would never stay with them long or marry them because the bond wouldn't allow him to. So at least she had some control, in that aspect. But that wasn't even her in control, that was the bond being all bossy and possessive. Stupid bond.

James woke up slowly. He knew that he wasn't in his dorm room, but he didn't quite understand where he was. All he knew was that it was dark and the people sleeping to the left and right of him snored horribly. He sat up, moaning and holding his head, trying to figure out where he was and what had happened. He looked around at his surroundings, slowly coming to the realization that he was in the Hospital Wing and that the people to his left and right were no other than his best mates, Sirius and Peter.

What had happened? His mind was still pretty foggy on what had happened, but the last thing he remembered was working on the Sleeping Draught potion. Knowing him, it probably exploded or something, knocking him out, but he still wasn't quite sure how Sirius and Peter had gotten to the Hospital Wing. James shook his head, trying to clear it. He'd hopefully remember in the morning.

James lay back down on his cot and tried to go back to sleep. He counted owls, then dragons, but still couldn't sleep. He named all the different brands of brooms and every detail he could remember about them. He named all the Quidditch teams, their members and what position they played and the brooms they flew. Nothing worked. He was still very much awake and Peter and Sirius were still very much asleep. It wasn't fair. James let out a sigh and began to think of other things that might just put him to sleep. He tried counting griffins, dragons (again), phoenixes and more, nothing working. He then went to Slughorns, Dumbledores, Snivellous', still unable to fall asleep.

James sat up with a huff. If he wasn't asleep after going through all that, he probably wouldn't be able to fall asleep. He decided to go for a walk, against Madam Pomfrey's wishes, but he couldn't sleep and he was stiff and needed to get rid of some energy.

Quietly climbing out his bed, he looked at Sirius and Peter to make sure they were still asleep. Those boys could sleep through anything and at the current moment, James wished he could too. He quietly walked over to the Hospital Wings large oak doors and gently pushed one open, making sure that Peter and Sirius were still asleep and that Madam Pomfrey hadn't magically appeared. She was scary like that. Always popping up in the Hospital Wing when you least wanted her too.

James quickly walked out into the hallway and quietly shut the door behind him, making sure he could get back in. Looking around, he noticed how dark it was and wished that he had thought to grab his wand. Not wanting to go back into the Hospital Wing and risk getting caught, James began to walk. Where? He didn't know or care, but let his feet lead him and take him where they wanted.

Without realizing it, James ended up at the Gryffindor Common Rooms, or more specifically, in front of the Fat Lady. But he wasn't facing the Fat Lady. Instead, he was facing a little down the wall to the left of her image. Why? He had no clue, but a gut feeling that there was more to this wall than meets the eye. He walked towards the wall and ran a hand down in, quickly pulling his hand away when an electric shot went through his arm. _Strange._ James rubbed his arm and looked at the wall curiously. There was definitely something behind that wall and he was going to find out sooner or later. How? He didn't know, but he would.

James was broken out of his reverie by the sound of the Fat Lady's portrait opening. He panicked and quickly looked toward the portrait, wondering who would be up at this hour. He was surprised when the portrait opened to reveal none other than Lily Evans. His eyes met hers and held her gaze for a couple of seconds, both equally surprised.

"James?" Lily's soft voice broke the silence between the two. "What are you doing here? Did Madam Pomfrey release you from the hospital?" James was still slightly panicked and couldn't stop staring at Lily. He barely registered that she had spoken. Lily walked closer to James, looking at him curiously. She tentatively reached out a hand. "Are you okay James?" Her hand brushed against his arm and James looked down at it briefly, before looking back up at her. Lily was still taller than him, but not by much.

Without realizing was he was doing, James reached out and carefully placed his hands on either side of Lily's face, before pulling her in for a kiss. The kiss lasted for a couple seconds before James came to, realized what he was doing, panicked and ran away, leaving a dumbfounded Lily Evans standing in front of the Fat Lady. Oh dear.

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 **I know! I'm sorry! It's a cliffhanger! Forgive me please! Anyways, I'll be writing Lily's side of this little rendezvous, so look out for that.**

 **Huge thank yous to: adityasharma93, ElizabethAnneSoph, BohemianBlues, sirivikman for following! We now have 27 followers!**

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 **BookLover1182: James kinda knows about the soul-bond on a subconcious level. I'm thinking he'll find out soon. Maybe. Depends on where the story goes and where my friend decides to take it.**

 **RaeOfSunshine9: Glad I could make your day better!**

 **rileylana16: James will find out soonish. Maybe. Depends on where the story goes and where my friend decides to take it.**

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	9. Chapter 8b

**I promised you all Lily's point of view of their little midnight rendezvous and here it is! Think of it as an addition to Chapter 8.**

 **Disclaimer... Everything you recognize belongs to the amazing, wonderful J.**

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Lily woke up a couple hours later and glanced over at her clock. _12:38 a.m._ Lily sighed and rolled over. She had woken up every few hours and wasn't getting much sleep. If anything, these short little half hour naps were making her more tired. Lily tried, in vain, to fall back to sleep. She counted sheep, cows, phoenixes, dragons, griffins and more to no avail. She eventually gave up and decided to see if she had any homework that was due in the next few weeks, she didn't. Grumbling slightly, Lily returned to her bed and pulled out the book nearest to her, the soulbond book. She opened it and began to talk with Rowena, asking her questions, but more or less having a small conversation about various things.

Lily told Rowena about the day's events and James peculiar behavior. Rowena, after thoroughly chewing James out, suggested that maybe James knew about the bond, on a more subconscious level. Lily wasn't too sure, but agreed with Rowena after she pointed out how he tried to be her friend and wanted to beat her in potions, things that maybe could attest to the idea of their bond growing stronger. Rowena asked Lily again when she was going to clue James in on the soulbond to which Lily replied that after the day's events, he wasn't quite ready for that information. Rowena agreed, but told Lily that she shouldn't hold off for too long.

Lily sighed. That's what everyone had been telling her. Don't hold off telling James. Sooner is better than later. It wasn't that she didn't want James to know, it was that she was kind of scared of what would happen after she told him. Rowena couldn't tell her much because all bonds were different, progressing at different paces and through different ways. Lily didn't know what to expect and she hated that. She couldn't research bonds because there was nothing written about bonds because there were so few people that had bonds. It was such a struggle. So yes, Lily Evans was frightened to death about what might happen after she told James.

Lily attention was brought back to the book as she saw hurried writing. _Lily, Godric just told me that James is standing outside of the Gryffindor Common Room staring at the place where the soulbond room is. He thinks that James knows that something is behind the wall._ Lily panicked. No! He couldn't! That would ruin everything. Lily quickly wrote back to Rowena. _I'm going to head down there and see what he is doing. Maybe he's sleepwalking._ She quickly shut the book and grabbed her robe and some slippers, before running a hand through her hair. Looking around to make sure she hadn't woken up any of her roommates, she quietly walked towards the door opened it and headed down the stairs to the common room.

She was halfway down the stairs when she felt a jolt of electricity go up her arm, causing her to stop and almost fall down the rest of the stairs. She gingerly sat down on the steps and put a hand to her heart, which seemed to be beating faster than ever. Her arm tingled slightly and she had a warm feeling encompassing her, like a hug. Lily slowly got up from her place on the steps and began back down to the common room.

Lily walked over to the portrait hole and then stood there for awhile, contemplating if she should open it or not. Soulbond Lily wanted her to open it because her soulbonded was out there. Logical Lily wasn't sure because what if James wondered why she was out this late? What if she got caught and in trouble? After bickering with herself for a few seconds, Lily decided that if asked she would say she was heading to the kitchens, Rowena (actually it was probably Godric) had disclosed where they were and how to get in. Her mind made up, Lily pushed open the portrait hole.

Just as Rowena had said, James was standing in front of the portrait, but not looking at it. Instead he was looking at the wall to the left curiously. She opened the door a little more and then froze when James turned his head to look at her. Their eyes met and Lily took a breath in, shocked and surprised. She held his gaze for a couple of seconds before opening the door enough to step out. "James? What are you doing here? Did Madam Pomfrey release you from the hospital?" She shut the portrait door behind her and studied James for a little bit. He seemed disoriented. Maybe he had been sleepwalking and woke up when he got here. Maybe the medications Madam Pomfrey had given him had muddled his brain. She took a few steps towards James and held her arm out, tentatively, as if to comfort him. She gently grabbed ahold of his arm. "Are you okay James?" She saw James glance down at her hand and then back up, watching her as if he half expected her to lash out and slap him or something.

It was silent in the hall for a bit and neither of them moved. Then, without warning or time to register what was happening, James' gentle hands were on either side of her face and he was kissing her. James Potter was kissing her, Lily Evans! Lily had just enough time to register what was happening before James broke the kiss and ran away. Lily watched him run, her arm still stretched out as if she was begging him not to go, but she couldn't think. For once in her life, Lily Evans was dumbfounded.

When she finally came to her senses, she realized what had just happened and her outstretched hand flew to her mouth. _Oh no!_ Logical Lily was screaming and panicking; Soulbond Lily was on cloud nine. _James Potter just kissed me. JAMES POTTER KISSED ME!_ Lily gave out a small scream and gasp. _And I kissed him back. I KISSED JAMES BLOODY POTTER BACK!_ This wasn't supposed to happen. This could ruin everything.

Lily began to hyperventilate and panic. Who did he think he was coming in here and kissing her? He had no right to. None at all. She didn't care about the stupid soulbond; you can't just go around kissing everyone, you just can't.

Her heart pounding, Lily turned around and ran into the common room, not needing to give the Fat Lady the password as she had seen how panic-stricken the girl was. She then ran up the stairs to her dorm and flung herself on her bed. She knew that Rowena would be asking about what happened, but she could care less about that right now. Her whole future was going to change all because stupid James Potter decided he could just kiss her. She hated him. Well, okay. She didn't hate him, she couldn't hate, the stupid soulbond made sure of that. But she could hate the fact that he thought that he had the right to go around and kiss whomever he liked, whenever he liked and whatever time. Lily screamed into her pillow, trying to let out all her frustration and anger, eventually breaking down into tears and crying herself to sleep. She wouldn't admit it to herself, but she actually liked it when James had kissed her. And that night, she had the best sleep she had gotten in weeks. All because James Potter had kissed her.

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 **Whew! It's done! I wrote this right after I posted the Chapter 8. Y'all better be thankful. Anyways, please (with ice cream, melted chocolate, sprinkles and a cherry on top) read and review. It makes it worth the writing and my friend and I love to read them all. We will try to get Chapter 9 up and running as soon as possible, but seeing as y'all got two chapters in one night, I think you should be okay for a little bit, so no complaining about when Chapter 9 is posted. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed!**

 **~ . .kids**


	10. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: J. owns everything you recognize. I'm a broke college kid...**

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To say that Lily Evans was angry was an understatement. She was livid, constantly looking like she was going to punch someone in the face because they had told her that she hadn't gotten an O on her essay. Yeah, Lily was mad. Why? Dear ol' James Potter had kissed her. He kissed her and that had ruined everything. Of course, no one knew that but Lily, but no one needed to know it but Lily. Sure it had been several weeks since James had kissed her, but Lily hadn't calmed down and didn't look like she ever was going to. No matter how much Rowena tried to reassure her that one kiss wasn't going to ruin everything, Lily was convinced, no she knew, that everything was going to go downhill. She was a second year for crying out loud and didn't want to be to be publicly tied down to someone. So she was doing her absolute best to avoid James and, for the most part, she was succeeding.

James had been trying to talk to Lily since their little rendezvous, but could never find her. Or when he did manage to find her she would brush him off with a "Not now, Potter" or "Don't you have first years to bully Potter?" Since that kiss, something had awoken inside of James. He couldn't really describe it, but he knew that it had something to do with Lily and maybe she knew what it was if only she would let him talk to her. He wasn't quite sure what he had done wrong. Was it the kiss? Or a few days later when he accidentally spilt the entire jug of Pumpkin juice on her? Maybe it was the time in Charms when he accidentally set her hair on fire. That last one was actually kind of funny because you couldn't really tell her hair was on fire except for the smoke that was coming from her head. Yeah it was probably the fire that made her so angry at him, but if she would just let him talk to her he could apologize and explain what happened. (It was actually Sirius' fault, but no one would believe him)

It was another typical day, one James was sure was going to be an exact replica of the past couple of weeks. He went down to breakfast with Peter, Sirius and Remus, sitting as close to Lily as he could get. Lily would always sit the farthest away from as she could get, meaning that Alice and Marlene were in between the two of them. James tried to start a conversation with Lily only to be told to "Shove it, Potter." Alice and Marlene gave him an apologetic look. They had been trying to figure out what Lily's problem was the past couple of weeks because they knew that she wasn't that angry over the pumpkin juice and she had gotten over the fire after Madam Pomfrey was able to grow her hair back, but they hadn't had much luck. Remus nudged James and just shook his head. Everyone knew how breakfast was going to go because it was always the same. It was best if they didn't have a shouting match this early in the morning.

In class, James would try to sit by Lily or be partners with her, but she somehow always evaded him. He was half tempted to give up, but this feeling he had told him that he shouldn't. He just had to apologize for the fire. It wasn't his fault. Sirius had mispronounced the spell and somehow Lily's hair had caught on fire. Lunch and Dinner were the same as breakfast. After dinner, James would sit in the common practically all night, or at least till Sirius came downstairs and dragged him up to their dorm, waiting for Lily because he knew that she would be in the library to avoid him and he didn't particularly like the library. (Okay, so he had gotten in trouble with Madam Pince a couple of times. Fine, it was more like a dozen times. Okay, it was actually more like the entire first year of school, but he didn't mean to pick up that book. How was he supposed to know it was going to try to kill all the students in the library? It's not like it had a title or anything. Oh, and how was he supposed to know that first years weren't allowed in the restricted section. There wasn't a sign.)

Needless to say, James was getting very far with Lily, but that was fine with him because he knew that Lily would have to come around and allow him to apologize one of these days. Weeks. Okay, so it was probably more like months. Actually, if you want the truth, it was going to be years before Lily let him apologize, at least that's how it seemed. That girl had a temper.

James could occasionally be found sitting outside of the Fat Lady's portrait, staring at the wall to the left, trying to figure out what was behind it. He had looked over every inch of the wall, but had felt no seam of hinges that might allude to a door. Being a second year, he didn't know that many advanced spells so he couldn't see if there was a spell to open the wall. (He had tried _Alohomora_ only to have his hair turn pink.) He gave up trying to figure out what was behind the wall and opening the wall, opting just to sit and stare at it. Sirius was very certain that James was barmy, Remus thought he just needed some space to cope with the Lily situation (he was partially right) and Peter would occasionally bring James food from the kitchens as he sat there.

Lily was sick and tired, both figuratively and literally. She was sick and tired of her situation. She didn't ask for the soulbond, it just happened. Did she want it, she didn't really know because nothing had happened in the soulbond. Did she want anything to happen with the soulbond? Yes and no, but probably more no because it was James Potter. She was literally sick and tired because of her situation. She was so worried about James and not talking to him and being mad at him that it was ruining her appetite and sleep. (Rowena said that she didn't feel good because of the bond, but Lily disagreed because James certainly didn't look sick or tired, just depressed.) So needless to say, Lily was mad, though not at James anymore. Actually seeing as she was mad at the soulbond she was kind of mad at James because he's her soulbonded, but yet she wasn't mad at James because it wasn't his fault and yet it was because he kissed her. Don't ask, it's confusing.

Marlene and Alice had tried to get Lily to talk about what was bugging her, but they hadn't gotten very far. In reality, Lily wanted to tell them, but she was scared because she wasn't sure how they would take the soulbond. For all she knew, they wouldn't want to be her friends anymore because she was weird. The only person she had considered telling was Remus because she had a feeling, no she knew, that he would be accepting of her situation just as she was of his. It wasn't that hard to figure out, honestly. Nobody is sick for this long and hasn't died yet, so it was only logical that something else was at play. With a little bit of research, done while hiding from James in the library, she had figured it out and now had an extensive chart of the phases of the moon for each month for the next five years. She had made it into a lovely calendar that she was planning on giving to Remus for Christmas. She knew he would probably freak out once he knew that she knew, but she was determined to show him that she would be his friend despite his differences. In fact, Remus was the only person she was friends with from James' group and she thought it was kind of fitting seeing as they both were in difficult, life changing and compromising situations. Yes James was her soulbonded, but he didn't know about the soulbond and therefore didn't really have a difficult, life changing, compromising situation, but he did... It made more sense in Lily's head.

Lily was heading back from the library, after having worked on Remus' present for a couple hours, when she was cornered by Marlene and Alice and pulled into an abandoned classroom. "Hey!" Lily glared at her two friends, straightening out her robes. Marlene and Alice just looked at each other before sitting her down in a desk in the room. "Start talking." Lily looked from Alice to Marlene slightly confused. "About what?" Marlene huffed and crossed her arms. "About whatever has gotten you in such a funk." Lily looked down at the desk. "Oh. And why should I tell you two?" Marlene looked at Alice who nodded and then turned to Lily. "Because if you don't tell us," Alice looked back at Marlene and gulped, "we're going to take every homework assignment that you haven't turned it yet and all future homework assignments and destroy them." Alice rushed out the last part and then both she and Marlene ran for cover, not wanting to be on the receiving end of one of Lily' hexes and seeing as Lily was constantly studying spells for third years and up, she knew some good ones. Lily's face lit up in a fit of fury and she gripped her wand tightly, almost challenging Alice and Marlene too, but then she relaxed thinking of all the hard work she had put into those assignments and how she didn't really want to redo every single assignment in the foreseeable future. Slumping onto the desk and putting her head into her arms she gave in. "Fine, I'll talk." Alice and Marlene crept out of their hiding spaces slowly, amazed that Lily had relented. They started to head back over to Lily, but jumped and ran back to their spots when her head shot up. "But," Lily looked at where Marlene and Alice had resumed hiding, "you both need to promise that you won't tell a single soul what I am about to tell you." Alice and Marlene slowly crept back out again, crossing their hearts and mumbling 'wizards swear' under their breath.

Lily motioned for them to pull up some more desks and sit. While they were getting the desks, she thought of what to tell them, how to tell them and where she should begin. She decided that she wouldn't tell them about the soulbond just yet, but would start with the kiss, leaving out the soulbond stuff. So she told them. About how she went down to the kitchens one night, but ran into James and how he kissed her then ran away. About how she was mad that he felt he could just kiss her and get away with it. About how she kept brushing him off and really didn't want to, but she didn't really want to talk to him either. She vented and ranted about James Potter and his stupid hair and how he thought he owned the world. Alice and Marlene just sat and listened, dumbstruck, occasionally glancing at each other and smiling because they were fairly certain that Lily fancied James.

Lily finished her rant by slamming her hands down on the desk for the umpteenhundreth time and looking at her friends for help. Alice and Marlene grinned evilly at each other and then turned back to Lily. "You like him." Lily looked at her friends in horror. What? She looked from Alice to Marlene, both of them were smiling at her evilly. "Nonononononono... I don't like James." Alice and Marlene continued grinning and nodding. "Yesyesyesyesyes you doooo!" Lily looked at Alice and Marlene in disbelief. Where they even listening to her when she was talking? She didn't love him, she hated his guts. Well she didn't hate his guts; she couldn't hate his guts. Stupid bond. But she was very, very angry at him for thinking that he could just kiss her. "No, I don't like James Potter. If anything, it's quite the opposite. Who does he think he is that he can go around and kiss whomever he wants? I despise his stuck up attitude. The fact that he thinks he owns the world. I hate how he picks on people and belittles them. How he is constantly bragging about his flying skills, his transfiguration skills, his charm skills, his potions skills and anything else that pops into his head. How any girl could like or fancy James sodding Potter is beyond me. She must be dumber than a ton of bricks." Lily glared at Alice and Marlene who were looking at her with shocked expressions. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go back to the dorms and study for the test in potions tomorrow." Grabbing her bad, Lily quickly left the room, hurrying up to the dorms.

When she got to the dorms, she made sure that no one was there, then she went over to her bed, lay down and cried. She cried because even though James had a stuck up attitude, it was only because he tried to impress people. She cried because even though he thought he owned the world, he was still willing to share it with the people he cared for. She cried because he picked on people he cared for and he didn't belittle them, but made them appreciate their differences. She cried because even though he bragged about his abilities, he was still willing to help people when they struggled and he was willing to learn. She cried because everything she said about James Potter was wrong, but only she knew that. Alice and Marlene didn't know that. She was the only one who could really understand him, the only one who would be able to and it hurt that he was sad because of how she had been acting. Lily cried until she could cry no more. She cried till her ragged breath calmed into the deep breaths of sleep and she gave in to the dark bliss, allowing her dreams to take her far away, to a world where it was just she and James, full of happiness and bliss. For the first time in several weeks, Lily Evans smiled.

James was standing outside the door listening to Lily rant. It wasn't all that pleasant, but would anyone find is pleasant to listen in as someone ranted about them. He listened to her rant about him kissing her (that was on accident, really. Something possessed him to kiss her. Not that he didn't want to and that was a very nice kiss, but still...), how he thought he ruled the world ( _I wish_ ), and his stupid hair (at this James ran a hand through his hair muttering how his hair wasn't stupid it just had a mind of itself). He heard Lily finish her rant and slam her hands down on the desk. She was angry. He feared for Alice and Marlene's safety, but this was their idea and he was invited just to listen in. His ears perked up as he heard Alice and Marlene tell Lily that she liked James. _What?!_ James pressed his ear closer to the door to hear the conversation better.

"Nonononononono... I don't like James." He could hear the fear in Lily's voice. "Yesyesyesyesyes you doooo!" James gave a small laugh. He could picture Marlene throwing her hands up and dancing around Lily while saying that. It got quiet again which meant that either Lily was trying to not explode on her best friends or she was chewing them out through whispering. James moved closer to the door, trying to hear better what was going on.

"No, I don't like James Potter. If anything, it's quite the opposite. Who does he think he is that he can go around and kiss whomever he wants? I despise his stuck up attitude. The fact that he thinks he owns the world. I hate how he picks on people and belittles them. How he is constantly bragging about his flying skills, his transfiguration skills, his charm skills, his potions skills and anything else that pops into his head. How any girl could like or fancy James sodding Potter is beyond me. She must be dumber than a ton of bricks." James' breath caught in his throat. Is that what she really thought of him? James was so lost in his thoughts that he barely heard Lily tell Alice and Marlene that she was leaving. He quickly moved away from the door and down the hall, ducking into another abandoned classroom, but leaving the door open a little, and watched as Lily stormed from the room. After watching her turn the corner, James shut the door to the classroom and slumped against the wall. He heard Alice and Marlene walk by, calling out for him. He knew they wouldn't look in the classroom. He waited till he couldn't hear them anymore, and then he lost it.

The next few seconds were just a blur of rag as James destroyed the desks and anything else he could in the classroom. _Stupid Lily! She doesn't know anything about me. Calling me stuck-up. The girl who spends more time on her homework than I do on Quidditch. The girl who knows every stinking answer to every stinking question. The girl who always gets Os on her papers and tests. The girl who flaunts her intelligence and knowledge. Who does she think she is?_ James had his eyes closed, the dust of the desk floating around him. When he opened his eyes, he saw all the destruction that he had caused. He never could control his temper. Probably was a consequence of his ADHD, a mild form, but still. James looked around at the mess he caused, no, the mess Lily had made him cause and decided that day he was going to prove her wrong. Or anger her even more. Lily Evans was going to rue the day that she challenged James Potter. No one talked bad about him and got away with it.

 **Week before Christmas Break...**

Lily continued to avoid James at all costs in the week leading up to christmas break, counting down the days until he would leave hogwarts to visit his family and she could walk through the halls without ducking this way and that whenever she got a glimpse of an unruly mass of black hair. She would have liked to go home for the holidays, but her parents and Petunia were away visiting her grandparents many properties they had left behind. It wasn't all that bad though. Remus would be staying at Hogwarts over the break so at least she had a friend and it was the perfect opportunity to tell him about how she didn't care that he was a werewolf and maybe tell him about the bond. James had asked Remus if he wanted to spend the holidays at his place, but Remus had politely declined. Remus just wanted a couple weeks of peace and quiet. He loved his friends, but they could be a bit of a handful.

So it was Remus and Lily that stood at the doors of Hogwarts and waved goodbye to their friends. It was Remus and Lily who would spend time by the fire in the common room after dinner, talking about classes, about their friends. They were sometimes joined by Cynthia, much to Lily's disappointment. Yeah she and Cynthia were roommates, but the girl was annoying, always poking her head into other people's business and then gossiping. Lily was certain that half the rumors circulating Hogwarts had been started by Cynthia. That girl was a menace.

Come Christmas morning, Lily headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast and looked around for Remus, hoping to see him because she wanted to talk to him. She looked around the Gryffindor table, not seeing him, and reluctantly sat down towards the end of the table by herself. She was joined a little while later by Cynthia, who plopped herself down next to Lily and began talking away at a mile a minute. Lily only half listened, wondering where Remus was. She was brought out of her reverie by Cynthia asking her about something.

"So what do you think Lily?" Lily looked up at Cynthia. She had no idea what she had just asked or said. "I'm sorry, Cynthia. I've had a lot on my mind. Could you repeat the question?" Cynthia rolled her eyes, but repeated the question. "So, I was saying that I had sent James Potter a quidditch set for Christmas." Lily's heart sunk. She knew what was coming. All Cynthia could talk about was James Potter. "Not a real quidditch set, but a practice one, because he loves quidditch and I figured that if I started now that maybe next year, when we can go into Hogsmeade, James might ask me to go with him. Wouldn't that be great? Me, Cynthia Romaldo, a half-blood, dating James Potter, a rich pureblood." Cynthia sighed. "It would be so magical." Lily looked at Cynthia. "You would want to date James Potter just because he's a pureblood and rich?" Cynthia looked at her like she had magically grown a third eye. "Um yeah. Lily, his dad is the inventor of Sleekeasy's Hair Potion. He could buy anything you could ever want. His status is just a plus. I mean, come on, who wouldn't want to date a rich, pureblooded wizard?" Cynthia looked at Lily. "Honestly, Cynthia. I could care less about how much money someone has or what their status is. You've got to look at the little things about a person. Look beyond the status and money to see what they're really like because that's what actually matters. Would you still want to date James if he didn't have money or the status?" Cynthia looked thoughtful. "It would be a bummer that he didn't have money or status." Lily rolled her eyes. Cynthia's eyes grew wide and she grabbed Lily's arm. "If he didn't have the money or status, that would mean that I, Cynthia Romaldo, would have to work. I don't think I could do that, honestly, how do men even stand working it's just so..." Cynthia shuddered and Lily looked at her in disbelief. Was this girl even real? Lily shook her head and finished her breakfast. "Cynthia, I'd love to stay and chat, but I promised my mom that I'd write to her. I'll see you later." Cynthia nodded, still slightly stunned at the idea of actually having to work.

Lily headed to the Gryffindor Tower, but instead of going to her dorms, she walked over to where she believed the boys dorms were and looked for the one that Remus was in, finding it and knocking on the door. She listened to see if she could hear anything before knocking again. "Remus?" She paused, listening. "Remus, I know you're in there. Can I talk to you please?" She heard muffled moving coming from behind the door and then heard the door being locked. "No, Lily." "Remus, come on. I just want to talk." "No. Go away Lily. You shouldn't associate yourself with someone like me." Lily rolled her eyes. Remus could be such the drama queen. Then again, he was friends with Sirius. "Remus..." She trailed off, listening to the room. She thought she could hear someone crying. "Remus, please. I just want to talk. Please?" Lily waited for Remus to speak. "No, Lily. You're too nice for your own good. Nobody should have to be friends with a monster..." Remus wasn't given time to finish his sentence because Lily had blown up the door and was stalking through the destruction, glaring at him. "REMUS JOHN LUPIN, you are NOT a monster! A monster is an imaginary creature that is typically large, ugly and frightening. Your condition is not monstrous, it's unfortunate. And yet, even though you have this condition, you are still one of the nicest, most caring people I have met in my entire life. Do NOT call yourself a monster again."

Lily was standing over Remus and had her wand pointed at him, not in a threatening way, but to prove her point. Remus gulped, Lily could certainly be scary at times. He blamed it on the hair. He slowly nodded, more to appease Lily than agree. She huffed, lowered her wand and sat down next to him. They sat for a while in silence, just enjoying each others company. "Uh, Lily?" Lily looked up. "Yeah?" "You think you could repair the door?" Lily blushed and turned towards the wreckage, quickly repairing it. "I guess I got a little carried away." Remus shook his head. "A little? You were basically threatening me at wand point Lily. You're fairly scary when you're angry, you know that?" Lily laughed. "I'm serious! You're hair gets more red, if that's possible and your eyes look murderous. It's scary really." Lily shook her head. "The only person who could rival you is Sirius, but only when he runs out of shampoo." Lily began to laugh again and remus gave a little chuckle.

It was quiet again between the two, neither were sure what to do. "You know Remus, I'm still going to be your friend. It doesn't matter if you're a werewolf or not because what really matters is what's here." Lily pointed to his heart. "You're a good person Remus. People will just have to learn to look past the werewolf side of you to see it. And besides, you're not the only one who's different from everyone else. Believe me." Remus looked at her strangely. She was hiding something. "You know, Lily, you can talk to me because that's what friends do, right? Talk to each other." He reached out and put a hand on her shoulder and Lily turned and gave him a small, sad smile. "Promise me Remus." He looked at her warily. "Promise me that you won't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you." He looked at her, seeing if she was being legitimate, and then nodded, slowly and then more vigorously. "I promise." Lily smiled and then took a deep breath and started talking.

She told him about the check-in with Madam Pomfrey, where it all started. She told him about the book and Rowena helping her. She told him about the kiss and her speculation behind it. She told him everything and then sat back and watched as he took it all in. He was quiet for several minutes, trying to comprehend everything that she had just told him. He sighed and sat back, so the two were a mirror image of each other. "And James doesn't know?" Lily shook her head. "He's not ready for that." Remus sighed again, then tilted his head to look at Lily. "We're quite the messed up pair, aren't we?" Lily gave a sad smile. She seemed to have a lot of those lately. "Yeah, we are." They sat there, silent, thinking and enjoying the company. "Lily." Lily looked over at Remus. "I'll help you. You're right that James shouldn't know about this just yet, he's just not mature enough. But, you shouldn't be alone, so I'll be there if you need to talk or cry," Remus turned to face lily. "Cause that's what friends are for right?" Lily smiled and nodded. " The same to you Remus. Friends are there for each other." They spent the rest of the day in the dorms, playing muggle card games, talking, and being what the other needed. A friend.

Sirius had ended up at the Potters' a week into break sporting a few bruises and other injuries. Mrs. Potter had freaked out and healed him immediately before sitting him in their kitchen and helping the house elves whip a feast for him because according her he was much too skinny. She was smart enough to not pry into what had happened at home. She knew that if Sirius wanted to tell her what had happened he would, so she just made sure his injuries were healed and that he had enough to eat before sending up to a guest bedroom and telling him to go to bed. James was already in bed at this time as Sirius had shown up fairly late at night.

After sending Sirius up to bed, she went to her room where Fleamont was. He looked up from the book he was reading as his wife walked in. "Everything alright, love?" Euphemia shook her head as she got into bed. Fleamont looked over his wife before setting his book on his side table and scooching in closer to hold her in his arms. "What's wrong?" Euphemia sighed. "It's Sirius. He showed up here again all bruised and scratched. I'm not sure how he knew how to get here because he didn't use floo powder and he's much too young to apparate. I don't know if he would know how to use the Knight Bus. I gave him some food because he looked a little malnourished and sent him to bed. James doesn't know he's here yet. He's still sleeping." It was Fleamont's turn to sigh and he rested his head on his wife's. "Well, I suppose that for now we just make sure he's okay. If he keeps showing up like this over breaks I suppose we should talk about maybe taking him in. I don't know if wizards' have anything like adoption when a child is being abused. I believe the parents can do whatever and seeing as his family is a very wealthy, old pureblood family there wouldn't be much that the law could do. But for now we can just focus on taking care of him and making sure he is okay." Euphemia nodded and hugged her husband, reaching up to give him a kiss before turning out the light and saying good night.

James was woken up by someone bouncing on his bed. That someone happened to be a big furry, black blob. James rolled over and reached for his glasses, rubbing his eyes and then putting them on. Turning back to the person bouncing on his bed, he was shocked to see Sirius. His face instantly lit up and he leaned over to capture his friend in a hug bear hug. "Sirius!" Sirius gave a dramatic sob and over enthusiastic feigned choke. "You are killing me, James." James let go of his friend to look him over. "When did you get here?" Sirius looked down at the bed. "Last night. Really late last night. I had to sneak out after they were all asleep." James didn't know all that went on at Sirius' home, but form the way his friend acted, he could gather that it wasn't all good. "Well, at least you're here now. Come on! Let's go wake up mum and dad and get some breakfast!" Sirius laughed and followed James down the hall to his parents room to wake them up. Just as they were about to knock on the door, James whooped loud enough to wake everyone on their street. "Sirius, I almost forgot!" Sirius' eyes grew big, and the two boys took off, thundering down the stair and tumbling into the living room. James ran first to the large pile of vibrant packages, but his friend remained rooted to the floor, his mouth gaping open. James turned back to look at Sirius, who was standing there, at the bottom of the stairs with his mouth open. James shook his head. "Sirius, stop gawking and get over here and open your presents. They're not going to open themselves." Sirius closed his mouth and slowly walked over to his pile and then sat down and began to look through his pile, not wanting to open any until the Potters' came downstairs. James was doing the same.

"Look Sirius, a present from Cynthia!" James exclaimed, his face a mixture of excitement and confusion. "Cynthia!?" Sirius looked up from the present he was looking at and scooted closer to James to get a better look at the present he was holding. "Why is she sending you a present?" James shrugged and turned it over, looking at the parcel from all sides. "No clue, but I'm not complaining." "Wait, it smells funny!" Sirius grabbed the box. "Like … flowers. And cinnamon." He wrinkled his nose and went back to his own pile of goodies. James, however, had begun to sniff the box and found that it did smell like flowers and cinnamon. He didn't mind the cinnamon, but the flowers… That was a little girlie for him.

They resumed sorting through and looking at their presents and then went upstairs to wake up James' parents so that they could open them. A few minutes later they were both leading a groggy Euphemia and Fleamont down the stairs, pulling them down a little faster than perhaps what would be deemed safe. The second Mr. and Mrs. Potter reached the floor, the boys leaped into their piles of presents and began anxiously unwrapping, paper flying in all directions. A shriek was issued from Sirius' corner of the room as he held up a gleaming nimbus 1001. He examined every inch of the varnished surface, letting out sighs of utter happiness, his eyes wide with surprise. He proceeded to run to the Potters, engulfing them in hugs and thank you's. The Potter's watched Sirius' face as he looked at the broom and they were glad that even in this boy's horrible life, he was such a sweet angelic child. Maybe a little dramatic, but that only added to his flair.

"Sirius!" James call of delight pulled his attention back to the presents. Sirius walked over to where James was sitting, a big package on his lap. He was looking very excitedly down at it. Sirius sat down next to James, being very careful with his new broom, and looked over at the package in James lap. "Woah… Who got you this?" Sitting in Jaems' lap was a practice quidditch set. "Cynthia." Sirius looked from the package up to James. "Are you serious?" "No, you are. I'm James." Sirius gave James a light swat on the back of his head. "You know what I mean. Did she really give you that?" James nodded and held up the wrapping paper it had come in so Sirius could see that it was from her. "Wow. Wonder why she gave that to you?" James shrugged. "No clue, but it's cool." He turned to Sirius. "Hey! Wanna go test this out?" James had also received a broom from his parents and it was identical to Sirius'. Sirius' face lit up. "Yeah! Let's go!" They got up and grabbed the quidditch set and their brooms and were heading outside. "Boys, just where do you two think you are going?" They turned around to find a Mrs. Potter standing behind them, her hands on her hips. "We're going outside, mum, to test out my new quidditch set." "I don't think so." James and Sirius' faces fell. "Not until you've had breakfast and are dressed in proper winter clothing. Now come on, into the kitchen you two go. The house elves have made an excellent breakfast." She ushered them into the kitchen, making them leave their brooms in the living room (which resulted in a lot of whining and complaining and begging, asking if they could bring their brooms in… they didn't get to) and sat them down, making sure both got a nice, big breakfast before sending them up to get dressed and then go outside.

* * *

 **Another day, another night… ANOTHER CHAPTER IS DONE! I know, I know. We are absolutely horrible for making you wait for so long, but there is a legitimate reason for why this has happened. If you read these little notes at the bottom, you would know that I have started college, so my friend and I won't have a whole lot of time to dedicate to this, but we are going to try our best. Also our, schedules don't exactly work with each other so we can't collaborate too well… The struggle is real guys.**

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 **And once again….**

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	11. Chapter 10

**WE ARE SO EXTREMELY SORRY THAT THIS HAS TAKEN SO LONG! PLEASE FORGIVE US AND (if you want to) READ THE END NOTE!**

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Hogwarts was alive again. Its corridors rang with the calls of friends rejoining after the holidays, the windows of dormitories and classrooms once again warmly aglow, the great hall tables crowded with hungry students. Although Lily had not wanted to let go of the special times with Remus, she couldn't help but anticipate her friends' return. She had set about to find them in the midst of returning students when she collided with a black blur. "Marlene .." she struggled to exclaim as the two toppled to the ground. "Marlene!" She tried to look angry but broke out laughing at the sight of her grinning face. "You know, you'd think I could go two weeks without your signature evil eye, but alas! I've missed it terribly!" Marlene threw back her head dramatically. "It has been a little quiet around here," Lily smirked. "Too quiet." Marlene grinned and stood, helping Lily to her feet. "Alice here said you wouldn't miss us a bit!" Lily turned to Alice, an eyebrow raised and a smirk on her face. "I did not!" Alice exclaimed. "Don't worry, I believe you," Lily laughed, embracing her friend. "But seriously, what have you done these past weeks. It must have been miserable without us!" Marlene persisted. "Wouldn't you like to know," Lily answered slyly. "Lily Evans is keeping a secret!" Marlene called before Alice clamped her hand over her mouth.

Lily laughed and lead her friends away from the busy great hall. "So, tell me what you guys did over the break." Marlene jumped in and began to describe her break which mainly included boring holiday parties at this pureblood families house or that one's. She commented on how she hadn't seen Sirius at the annual Christmas dinner at his parents place which was unusual, but she hadn't been able to get ahold of him to ask him how he was. Alice had stayed at home with her family and had a quiet Christmas. Lily told them about her Christmas, omitting the part about Remus being a werewolf and her telling Remus about her bond. All of them were sickened by the thought of James ever dating Cynthia and wondered what he would ever see in a girl like her.

Sirius, Remus, James and Peter were oohing and ahing over James practice quidditch set, as well as trying to figure out why Cynthia had given it to James. Remus knew, of course, having talked with Lily over the break, but he didn't say anything. "Maybe she wants you to teach her quidditch?" Sirius was shooting out questions, all of them getting vetoed by one of the other three. "Nah. She doesn't seem like the quidditch type. You know?" Sirius threw his hands in the air. "I quit! You all won't believe any of my suggestions so you can figure it out without me. If anyone needs me, I will be getting some much needed beauty sleep." The other three rolled their eyes and went back to looking at the set.

They sat there in quiet admiring it, until James stood up to go put it away. "James, why are you putting it away?" Sirius had come back to look at it and was now whining. "Because Sirius, I think it would be polite to go and thank Cynthia for the gift, right?" Sirius grumbled in agreement, wondering why he had to do that now and not later, like when they were going to dinner.

James wandered down to the common room keeping his eyes peeled for Cynthia. He didn't have to look far because the petite blonde had wandered over to where he was. "Hey James. How was your break?" James turned to look at Cynthia. "Cynthia, just the person I was looking for. My break was great. I want to thank you for the practice quidditch set. It's amazing." Cynthia blushed. "Your welcome." "I feel kind of bad that I didn't get you anything." "Oh, no worries James." "No really, I feel bad. Is there any way that I could make it up?" Cynthia thought for a bit, her face lighting up with an idea. "What if you taught me quidditch?" James face lit up. This girl was amazing! "Sure! I'd love to. What do you say tomorrow night?" Cynthia beamed. "Sure! I'll meet you down here! See you then." She turned to head back to her friends, giving James a wave as he headed back up to the boys dormitories. Neither of them noticed the figure sitting at the table right by where they were standing, and boy, was she livid.

Lily stormed into the library, her hair flowing behind her, blowing like flames in the wind. She hurried over to her usual table in the back corner between two shelves and sat down, putting her head in her arms and trying not to cry. Stupid Potter and his love for quidditch. Stupid Cynthia and her need to dig her nails into every guy at Hogwarts. (Actually, it was only just James so far, but Lily is a little mad and James is kind of her everything so yeah… You get the point.) She knew she was supposed to be here because she and Remus were going to work on their Transfiguration homework together, but she couldn't work. Not when stupid, petite, blonde Cynthia was sneaking her way into every little thing. The girl was a menace.

Lily was so focused on calming down and not crying or losing her temper that she didn't hear Remus walk over and put his stuff on the table. She felt a hand on her arm and looked up, to find Remus looking at her. She knew that he probably knew what had happened, being roommates with James and all, but that didn't really help. She still needed someone to vent to. "Hey, you okay?" Lily put her head back into her arms, the threat of crying more prevalent than ever. She slowly shook her head. Remus scooted his chair closer and began to rub her back. "Hey, it'll be okay. It's not like they're dating or anything." A muffled yet could be heard from the pile known as Lily. Remus sighed. "Okay, fine. They're not dating, yet. But who knows, maybe they won't end up dating and everything will be okay." Lily lifted her head high enough out of her arms to give Remus a look that said, _Seriously?_ "Okay, fine. Maybe they will end up dating. I mean, James does like quidditch, a lot, and Cynthia asking him to teach her quidditch certainly will make things more complicated, but hey. Maybe the bond will step in and sort things out." Lily shook her head once again. "Lily, I have no idea what you mean by that. Would you please lift your head out of your arms and explain this to me?" Lily gave a sigh and lifted her head out of her arms. "The bond hasn't progressed enough for that to happen." Remus continued to rub Lily's back as she rested her head on his shoulder and began to cry. "It'll work itself out Lils. It'll work itself out."

"That is a snitch," James pointed to a still, golden ball behind glass. "It's the seeker' job to catch this for the team. When they do, the game ends and we receive one hundred and fifty points." James voice trailed off as he became transfixed by the trophies in the case. "Let's go fly now, James. Please?" Cynthia was growing weary of the trophy room. "Alright," James conceded, stealing one last look at the case before turning and heading to the door. The fields were blanketed in snow, matching the snow capped towers of the castle. Cynthia had borrowed an old cleansweep because Sirius, no matter how much James begged and bribed, wasn't ready yet to "expose his broom to the outside world." It remained carefully wrapped in his trunk until the snow let up.

James lead Cynthia outside to the quidditch field and showed her how to mount the broom, where to grasp, how to hold herself on the broom and how to steer. He watched Cynthia gain a little air before taking off himself and flying around the pitch, testing out his new Nimbus. He loved it. It flew so easily, responded well and, of course, the speed wasn't so bad either. After taking his broom around the pitch a couple of times, James headed back to where Cynthia was and explained the rules and plays of Quidditch. They spent the next few hours throwing a quaffle around the pitch and racing each other, with James usually winning because, well, he had a better broom. Cynthia argued that if they had had the same or similar brooms she could have given him a run for his money. James wasn't so sure.

When they finally headed back, it was dark and they were laughing and covered from head to toe in mud. They split up when they got to the common room, promising to meet up for dinner later. Cynthia headed up to her dorm to clean up and change while James headed over to a heated chess match between Remus and Sirius. Remus and Sirius glanced up as he headed over. "How'd it go?" Remus looked James up and down, shocked at how much dirt he had managed to get on himself, but then again, this was James. "It was great actually. She seems really into quidditch and she isn't that bad. I think with some more practice she would be able to make it onto the team." Sirius glanced up from the game to look at James. "Really? Huh. What position do you think she would play?" "Well, we mainly worked with the Quaffle today, throwing back and forth so probably Chaser though maybe Keeper." "Well, there's a chaser and keeper graduating this year, so maybe she can take one of those spots." "Yeah, maybe." They sat in silence for awhile, Remus and Sirius glancing at each other and then to James who was completely oblivious. Remus sighed. "Dude, you have got to shower." James came out of his reverie and looked down at himself. "Oh, yeah, sorry. I'll be down in a bit." Remus and Sirius shook their heads as he walked away. "So, what happened with his infatuation with Lily?" "I don't know Sirius. Checkmate." "Seriously, Remus?! Let me win for once!"

"So, he taught her how to play Quidditch." Remus sighed. "Lily, it's not that big of a deal. It was one harmless little lesson, I don't think this is going to change anything." Remus looked up to see Lily's face, pure anger and hatred for Cynthia. "Lily." She sighed. "Fine. I guess it isn't too big of a deal. I just don't like it when she's with him. Or if he's with any other girl for that matter." Remus raised an eyebrow. "A little possessive are we?" Lily blushed and shoved him. "Shut up."

Lily sat alone in her dormitory that night. Well, she wasn't really alone. She was talking with Rowena about the bond, trying to get a better idea of what was going on. _Rowena, I feel like I'm losing him. I guess I can't really lose him, but, well, you get the idea. He's been hanging around this girl named Cynthia and it makes me feel uncomfortable, more than when he is around other girls. How can I fix this?_ _ **Your bond is still much too young for it to make him feel uncomfortable being around other girls and seeing as he doesn't know about the bond, he won't feel all the emotions that you do. I suggest you find something to get you two closer. Maybe a common interest, or even better, try doing something that he likes. Don't give up. The bond, however young it is, won't let him be with another girl for too long. He will eventually, for lack of better terms, get bored and move on, searching for something that's missing. So don't worry too much. Just focus on getting to know him a little bit better and giving the bond time to mature. All will be fine.**_

Lily sighed. 'All will be fine.' That's all she could hope for right now. Marlene and Alice walked into the dorms as Lily was putting the book away. "Hey, where have you two been?" Alice and Marlene glanced at each other, sharing a look only girls can understand. "We saw what very well may be the hottest guy in Hogwarts practicing Quidditch shirtless." Marlene fanned her face and fell back onto her bed. Alice sat down next to Marlene with a sigh. "Alice here is absolutely smitten with the boy. Me, not so much. He's just not my type." Lily gave a small giggle. Marlene's type could only be described with one word, well two. Sirius Black. But don't let her hear you saying that because she doesn't like it. Apparently that's wrong, but when she gets around Sirius, she is just like Alice is right now. Smitten.

"So, describe this boy." Lily looked at Alice who was holding on to the post of the bed and staring off into space, dreamily and then to Marlene who was sitting up on her elbows looking at Alice with an amused expression. Alice gave a deep sigh and looked off dreamily. "He's wonderful." Lily shared a look with Marlene. This girl was already smitten. "He's got these gorgeous brown eyes that I could just melt in. And his hair is this sandy brown that I want to run my fingers through, it looks so soft. He's got amazing abs. And his arms." Alice gave out a sigh. "I would never feel scared in those." She sighed again, looking wistfully off into the distance. Both Lily and Marlene knew that she was thinking about her boy. Lily gave a slight giggle watching Alice. She was so smitten. "Alice" Lily called out to her friend, bringing out of her reverie. "You've told us all about him, but we don't know who he is." She gave a quick glance over to Marlene. "Or at least, I don't." Alice blushed and looked down at her feet before muttering something. Lily gave a confused look at Marlene who just shrugged her shoulders. "Sorry Alice. I didn't quite catch that. Could you repeat it?" Alice sighed and looked up from her feet, glancing at Lily through her bangs. "His name is Frank Longbottom. He's a fifth year in Gryffindor. He's also the quidditch captain."

Lily looked at Alice in surprise. Frank Longbottom? One of her best friends was currently crushing hard on her tutor. Well, sorta tutor. It was a long story. Alice looked at Lily in confusion. "Lily, do you know Frank?" Oh dear. Lily thought quickly. "Um, well I think I have see him around and definitely have seen him at the quidditch games. Other than that, no. I don't really know him." Alice continued to look at Lily, but with a more suspicious look. Something was up with Lily, but know was not the time to press. "Okay." Lily sighed. Whew! She gave Alice a smile. "So tell me more about this Frank boy."

James sat in the dining hall, a heap of scrambled eggs and greasy bacon before him. He lifted a fork to his mouth, but before he could take a bite, Cynthia had plopped down beside him. He was pleasantly surprised. "James, I've been thinking about quidditch next year. Think I have a chance?" James attempted to hastily swallow his mouthful of eggs. "With a little practice I'd say you have a shot!" Cynthia's mouth curled up into a grin. "Any suggestions for me?" James opened his mouth to offer himself for the position, but became distracted as a flit of red hair passed his table. Cynthia caught the hesitation and followed his eyes to Lily Evans as she sat down a few tables away. "Any suggestions?" she repeated, an edge to her voice. James's attention jolted back to their conversation. "How about we meet every Saturday at noon, on the quidditch pitch." The harshness in her eyes subsided, and she gave a satisfied smile. "Sounds like a deal." Cynthia left the bench to join her friends, and James turned back to his eggs and bacon, feeling a mixture of happiness and confusion. He shrugged his shoulders and continued eating.

James, Remus, Sirius, and Peter left the dining hall in light spirits. They had spent almost the entirety of breakfast discussing the latest defeat of the Falmouth Falcons to the Chudley Cannons, along with their own plans to spend all of summer on their broomsticks. "Did you see the look on that seeker's face when Cannons' beater sent that quaffle straight towards his nose?" Sirius doubled over in laughter. None of them were particularly fond of the Falmouth Falcons, especially Sirius. It was his cousin's favorite team, so he went out of his way to revel in every one of their defeats.

Lily sighed as she left her dorm room. Alice had spent the last hour gushing over Frank Longbottom and Lily had to agree with her. He was quite dashing, though, mainly because of the bond, she wasn't drawn to him in the way that Alice was. That poor girl was smitten. Head over heels in love. She headed down to the common room and, after glancing around to make sure that no one was up, headed out of the common room.

She wasn't quite sure where she was going. All she knew was that she needed some air. She was sure that if any of the professors saw her, they would let her walk around, especially if she used the bond as her excuse. She felt kind of bad at the thought of tricking the professors, but in a sense it was kind of true. She did need to clear her head and walking around the castle seemed to help.

She was wandering down the corridor when she heard voices. Faint ones. She began to panic ever so slightly and quickly ran to hide behind the painting of the fruit, hoping that whoever it was didn't see her feet or the outline of her body through the tapestry. As the voices grew closer, she held her breath. One, to ensure they didn't hear her breathing and two, to see if she could hear better their conversation. (Well, it's not eavesdropping if they don't know about it and it was a side effect of holding her breath so they wouldn't hear her. It's all coincidental.)

"I'm telling you. There was a door up there." She heard a scoff and a chuckle. "Yeah, sure Sirius. And I'm Godric Gryffindor." _Sirius?!_ After learning that it was none other than James, Sirius, Remus and Peter, she held her breath a little harder (if that was even a possibility) and listened harder. "If, there was a door up there, then why didn't we see it when we were just up there?" _Huh? A disappearing door?_ Lily pushed her ear gently into the tapestry (as if that would help her hear their conversation better). "I dunno, James. Maybe it's like the stairs, and it moves, but I'm telling you that there was a door there earlier today." It got quiet for a little bit and she heard the boys shuffle by till they were standing almost right in front of her.

"Hey!" She froze, thinking that had seen her outline through the tapestry or her feet. SHe held her breath and tried to make herself blend in with the wall as best she could, hoping they wouldn't see her. "Look guys, we're by the kitchens." Lily's head shot up and she began to listen more intently. _The kitchens?_ "Anyone fancy a midnight snack?" She heard the sound of rustling fabric and she assumed that they were either shaking or nodding their heads. "James, mate, it's late and after the week that we've had I'd really just like to go to bed. Besides, you've got that stash from your mum under your bed that we still haven't eaten." "Oh, that's right! I had completely forgot. Remus and Peter you okay with not going to the kitchens?" Remus agreed while Peter said no, before quietly muttering in agreement with the rest. She heard the boys laugh. "Ah, Peter. We can always count on you to want to eat. C'mon, I'll let you pick from the stash first." She heard some more laughter as they continued on their way, heading down the corridor.

As they were heading down the corridor, she heard Remus ask Sirius what floor he found the door on. "Oh, it was on the seventh floor, left corridor. It was weird though. It just randomly appeared as I walked by. Wonder what's behind that door?" "Probably a trap door of some sort." She heard James laugh. "Yeah, maybe you'd appear in another world where you have smarts, muscles and are liked by the girls Sirius." The boys dissolved into laughter as they turned the corner and Lily couldn't help but chuckle herself. Poor Sirius. But he did bring it on himself with his constant obsession over his looks, grades (even though he constantly complained about the homework), and how he was with the ladies.

Lily waited for a bit until she was absolutely sure that they were gone before she crept out from behind the tapestry. She turned around and looked at it, realizing how close she had been to being found by the boys. She studied the tapestry for a little while longer before heading down the corridor that the boys came from.

She continued walking down the corridor, up several flights of stairs and through several other corridors before coming face to face with a blank wall. She gave a small smile before she closed her eyes and began to think. When she opened her eyes, a door stood in front of her. She smiled. If only Sirius knew what this room actually was. Oh the trouble those boys would get into. She gave another small chuckle before opening the door and going in, being sure to check that no one was following her. She had just closed the door behind her when a voice called out to her from above.

"Finally! I thought you were never going to get here." She turned around and smiled up to where she assumed the voice came from. "I got a little hung up. Ran into some people in the corridor and had to hide until they left. But I'm here now." The voice gave a laugh. "Would those people happen to be four boys whose voices I heard outside the door just a few moments ago?" Lily laughed again and nodded as the person touched down. "They would be." The person shook his head before mounting his broom and kicking off. He got up a ways before looking back down at Lily.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Grab a broom and get up here. We haven't got all night." Lily shook her head and laughed before getting a broom. "Coming Frank."

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 **So, there's chapter 10. So sorry this took so long. My friend and I have had one hectic first semester of college, but it's done (well, it's been done since December 9th. We've just been relishing in the fact that we can go to bed before 1am…). Anyways, we will try to be better at posting chapters in the future, but can only promise so much seeing as the next semester starts next Monday (we are both so terribly excited *so much sarcasm rn*). Anyways, we love all of you for being so understanding and so patient! Thank you all so much!**

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	12. Chapter 11

**Apparently we've been writing this fanfiction for over a year…. Did y'all know that? We certainly didn't. Well, thank you all so much for sticking with us till now and we hope that you will stick with us till the end (no, we don't know when that will be… this could just never end…;-)...)**

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The school year was quickly coming down to an end. There were only two (well three if you count the final game) quidditch matches left. James and Sirius had been spending a lot of time practicing with the team. The Gryffindor team had gotten this far in the year so they were hoping to continue on to the end. This Friday they were up against Hufflepuff so they had pretty good chances of winning as the Hufflepuff team wasn't exactly the best, but Frank still wanted to make sure that they were in top shape to play in the finals. Alice occasionally drug Marlene and, if they were lucky, Lily to the practices, mainly so that she could oogle at Frank. Marlene, even though she wouldn't admit it openly, went to watch Sirius. Lily would go when she didn't feel like working on homework (there's only so far ahead you can get in your classes). She didn't focus on one person in particular (well, she tried not to, but you know), but rather watched the game play (or, if she was able, worked on homework with occasional glances to the practice). People thought she hated quidditch because she didn't go to the games, but really she was quite fascinated with it. She had considered trying out for the team this year, but didn't feel that she was quite comfortable with a broom to be able to be much help to the team.

So, the Tuesday before the Gryffindor v. Hufflepuff match, Lily found herself sitting in the stands with Alice and Marlene. She didn't have any homework to work on (having already finished her homework for the next few weeks) and she had read through almost all of her books (she wanted to leave the ones she hadn't read for times by the fire) so she was currently watching the Gryffindor team go through their different plays. Sirius and James were the youngest players on the team, being second years. James was a chaser and Sirius was the seeker (though Sirius often complained about being a seeker having wanted to be a beater). Frank Longbottom was also a chaser and was a fifth year as well as team captain. Fabian and Gideon Prewett were the team's beaters and were in their sixth year. Amos Diggory, seventh year, was the team's final chaser and Benjy Fenwick, seventh year, was the team's keeper.

Lily watched as Frank ran them through play after play, making sure each knew what they were doing and that the plays ran smoothly. It was times like these where she was thankful that she wasn't on the team because she was certain that she would be exhausted (this was kind of a given) and that she would despise Frank for the constant repetition with little breaks.

Frank finally called the practice to a close after Benjy almost fell off his broom (due to exhaustion) whilst attempting to stop the quaffle. The haggard team touched down and gathered round Frank for a little pep talk, no doubt to remind them about the upcoming matches and how close they were to getting the quidditch cup. The team finally disbanded, heading off to the showers, sweaty, beat up and completely exhausted.

When the girls met up with James and Sirius outside of the locker room, they noticed that the usual mischievous glimmer in the boy's' eyes was gone and had been replaced with tired kinda dead looking eyes. Not much was said on the walk back up to the tower and very few words were spoken as the boys headed up to their dorms for some well earned rest. After making sure that they made it up to their dorm safely, the girls turned over to the fire, where Remus sat reviewing one of his essays. He looked up, giving them a questioning look, presumably about the haggard boys he had just seen. "They okay?" Alice, Marlene and Lily shared a glance before giving a half shrug and nodding. "As okay as one can be after a gruelling practice like the one we just witnessed. Frank had them constantly moving and reviewing plays for the entire time. It's amazing all of the players managed to stay on their brooms the entire time." Remus let out a low whistle. "Why such a rough practice? They're up against Hufflepuff this Friday and while they aren't a horrible team they certainly aren't an amazing team." "It's not so much about this practice, it's more about ensuring they'll be in top performance when the match against Slytherin comes around. They're a really good team and Frank wants to win that cup or at least make sure they have a really good chance at getting the cup." Remus nodded as the group fell into silence, then turned back to editing his essay. Lily excused herself and went upstairs to shower and go to bed. Just watching the practice had made her feel tired. She couldn't even begin to imagine how Sirius and James felt. The poor boys.

James felt tired and not just any tired. He felt like he had been run over by a herd of hippogriffs or maybe trampled on by centaurs. Every bone, every muscle (even the ones he didn't know he had) hurt like a mother and all he wanted to do was sleep. He and Sirius trudged up the stairs to their dorm (well, drug is probably more like it. It was like a drunk person walking. They think they can walk, but they really need to be supported and helped by someone who is sober) occasionally losing their balance and almost falling but they made it. Both fell into bed with glee, finally being able to rest their weary bones and muscles. Sirius didn't even bother to pull the covers over himself, but had just draped himself across his bed. He wasn't quite sure why he hurt so bad as he was the seeker, but boy did he hurt and he assumed that James hurt worse being a chaser and being closer to the monstrosity that was known as Frank Longbottom. He looked over to where James lay. He was currently wiggling about on his bed like a strange caterpillar attempting to actually get on the bed and pull the covers over himself with little luck. His legs hurt way too much to bend and his arms would only cooperate with him so much. Sirius gave out a laugh watching James struggle, wondering why he didn't just stop and sleep where he was. It seemed like James might actually be getting somewhere when he wiggled a little too far and promptly fell of his bed and onto the floor. It was here that Sirius burst into laughter only to immediately hate himself and his cramping abs immediately crying out in pain amongst laughing. James currently lay on the floor, grimacing in pain from landing on the hard floor and his sore body.

He glanced over to where Sirius lay laughing on his bed, hoping he would fall off himself, before telling him to shut up and turning on his side to face his bed. He was about to pull himself up when he noticed a journal lying in between his bed and night stand. Curious, he grabbed it and hoisted himself up onto his bed into what someone could maybe call a sitting position before opening it to see what was inside. Inside, was the list that James had compiled of different ways to get to know Lily. It was titled "Ways to get to know Lily Evans so I can figure out how she and my parents know each other so well" (Remus had thought that this title was a little excessive, but, as James had pointed out, it clearly stated what this list entailed).

There wasn't much written concerning the list, just a sloppily scribbled 1 and a short phrase written after it. Be nice to Lily. Sadly, James did not come up with this one because, honestly, what 12-13 year old boy is going to try to get to know a girl better and do so by being nice to her. The first thing he would probably do is tease her, pull her hair, trip her, steal her homework, things like that, not be nice to her. That's against all rules for every 12- 13 year boy everywhere. You are never "nice" to a girl, it simply isn't done. Although, there is one exception, you can never, under any circumstances, punch a girl, even if she punched you first because that's mean and girls do not deserve that. So instead, written after idea number one, was a long list of simple to brilliantly complex pranks.

Flipping through the journal, James saw pages and pages of words and drawings describing all of the various pranks they had come up with. A majority of the pranks were come up with by James and Sirius, though occasionally Remus would put in a note or two and even Peter helped create some (especially if they included food). Some of them were pranks they could actually do, though most were just the boys goofing off with fanciful pranks that were way too complicated for them.

The prank planning ended about halfway through the journal, and at the end of it were some plans for a map, but not just any map. A map of Hogwarts, one that would show all of the people in the castle and where they were in real time as well as all the secret passages and how to use them. It was a very ambitious plan, but the boys had made several notes on ideas of how they could make this work. Well, Remus had made notes, the rest of them had just gone along with his plans as Remus was the one who usually went to the library and did the research for their pranks. The rest of them just couldn't bring themselves to even go near the library as, well according to Sirius, "it would ruin my reputation and I couldn't do that to my adoring fans." James, Remus and Peter weren't sure what fans he was talking about, but sure Sirius, whatever works.

James got up, with a bit of a struggle, and headed over to where Sirius lay, looking fairly much dead. He went over and shoved Sirius, accidentally knocking him off of his bed and onto the floor where he landed most ungracefully. Sirius lay there moaning and groaning for a while before giving up and getting up of the floor, in the most dramatic and painful way as possible. James rolled his eyes, having sat himself upon Sirius' bed and had been watching his display. "Just sit down Sirius." Sirius huffed and plopped himself down on his bed, giving a glare to James.

Ignoring the look Sirius was giving him, James handed him the journal and sat back, watching as Sirius flipped through it. "Woah. I'd forgotten all about these pranks." Sirius looked up at James who had gotten excited at the prospect of performing some of these pranks. "But mate, what's with the Lily Evans thing in the front? Why on earth would you (Sirius gave a gag at these next words because that's the 12 year old boy speaking) be nice to her?" Sirius' head whipped up from the journal and looked at James. "Mate, you don't fancy Evans do you?" James' eyebrows shot up into his mess that was called hair. "Are you crazy? Me fancy Evans? How could anyone stand to be around her with her stuck up, know-it-all, little-miss-perfect attitude?" Sirius quickly backed off sensing James rising temper. "Sorry mate. Was just trying to figure why Evans is in the journal." James sighed and ran his hands through his hair, making it even messier if that was possible. "Cause I was trying to figure out how she knows my mom and why they're all chummy with each other. Haven't gotten any farther along than a hex aimed at my head every time I even open my mouth so I'm never going to figure it out."

Sirius and James spent the rest of the afternoon talking about the pranks and the map, discussing which pranks they should try and how they could get the map to work. They were still discussing it when Remus came back from studying with Lily in the library and Peter from the kitchens. The boys ended up discussing until the early hours of the morning, when Remus finally put his foot down insisting he needed sleep. James and Sirius reluctantly went to bed, still continuing to whisper far later into the morning, occasionally getting hit by random things that Remus was able to grasp from his bed. They finally went to bed, Sirius falling asleep before James and James finally falling asleep, continually telling himself that he wasn't at all interested in Evans. How could he be?

Lily was sitting in the common room in her little secluded corner that she used for homework and studying doing just that, homework and studying. Alice and Marlene had left a couple of hours ago, having finished their homework for the week and not feeling the desire to work anymore (there was a limit people). They had tried in vain to get Lily to go with them, but she had declined, stating that she needed to finish her essay for Potions (she was well over the 2 feet required) and that she would see them at dinner time. So Alice and Marlene had left, a little upset over the fact that Lily wouldn't take even the smallest of breaks to join them on their walk. The weather was beginning to warm up now, settling into that summer heat that made it pretty unbearable to be wearing their uniforms. Alice and Marlene were currently lounging around the Black Lake, their robes, socks and shoes off and laying in piles near them.

"Do you think we should do something?" Marlene looked over to Alice. "Huh?" Alice sighed, propping herself up on her arms and turning to look over at Marlene. "About Lily. She's going to burn herself out at this rate and we aren't even close to finals. Maybe we should have a girls night or something and force her to not do work. If anyone deserves it she does." "It's Lily, Alice. While I'm sure we could eventually get her to take a break from studying, she'd just go back to it right after with twice as much gusto as before. She'd probably make a comment how taking a break set her back on her studying." Marlene shook her head. Lily was always studying, but Alice did have a point. Now that she was thinking about it, she wasn't sure the last time she had seen Lily come up to bed. Sure she was always in the room in the mornings, but Marlene had no idea when she went to bed, if she did at all. Screw it. Lily could be mad at them later, but she needed to take a break from her studying before she killed herself.

Marlene turned to look at Alice, who had gone back to staring at the sky. "Screw Lily's studying, we're going to make her relax and take a break." Alice looked over at Marlene, giving her an equally evil smile as the girls picked their stuff up and headed back to the castle. Lily could hate them later, but tonight, she was going to relax and have fun with her friends.

"So maybe we should have taken her wand as well." Alice and Marlene were sitting back to back in their dorm room, still in shock over what had just happened. They may or may not have hidden Lily's book bag with her books and homework before they all left for dinner and she may or may not have gotten mad at them and almost torn up the dorm in attempt to find her things. The only thing they had gotten out of this was that Lily was way too high-strung and needed a break. The only problem was they now had no idea how to go about doing that. "You're going to hate me for suggesting this Alice, but we might have to get help from James, Sirius, Remus and Peter." It was quiet for a bit after Marlene mentioned the boys, both trying to think of another option than the one they were faced with right now. Alice sighed. "I'm going to hate to admit this, but that's actually brilliant. They're probably the only ones who can help us. Just don't tell them I said that." Marlene laughed and she and Alice got up and headed down to find the boys, hoping they could help them. If anything, Lily might be able to relax via hexing James and Sirius, something that was becoming quite the regular occurrence.

James and Sirius were all too willing to help, seeming to have forgotten what had happened in the past when they had interfered with Lily and her studies. Oh, this was gonna be good. Not only were Alice and Marlene hoping that Lily would take a break from her studies, but they were also hoping for a little action. Maybe a curse here and hex there and voila! James and Sirius would be stuck to the ceiling or charmed green or something like that. Lily was always creative with her hexes and curses, you never knew what you were gonna get. Remus had a little more sense than James and Sirius and opted out of their little escapade saying he valued his life. Peter went along with whatever James and Sirius did, so of course he was more than willing to help.

The plan went like this. When Alice, Marlene and Lily went down to dinner tomorrow, James, Sirius and Peter were going to get her things and stick them to the ceiling. This way she couldn't get to them as easy and would hopefully take a well deserved break. There was one little flaw in their plan. James and Sirius seemed to have forgotten that Lily was the best in their class. Not only that, but she knew spells that would be taught to them in their fifth year (keep in mind that they were all second years). So yeah, there was a flaw in their plan but did the boys know that or care? Not in the least. They were all too excited to be pranking Lily. Remus, being the good soul that he is, tried to warn the boys about what Lily could, and possibly would, do. As usual, James and Sirius ignored him. So Remus did what he usually did when he knew that James and Sirius were going to get their butts handed to them, he sat back and watched so at the end he could say "I told you so".

James and Sirius spent that night and the next day planning out how they were going to go through with this. It was quite simple really, just a levitation charm and sticking charm. They had practiced with things in their dormitory, making sure they could do. They currently had all four trunks, two owl cages, a bunch of paper, some inkwells, a couple quills and a very disgruntled Remus all stuck to their ceiling. How Remus got up there they weren't quite sure, but at least it worked. Maybe they could stick Lily up on the ceiling. That would make her stop studying. One look from Remus told them that they should not stick Lily to the ceiling. That and he may have threatened to inform the Gryffindor Prefect of their little escapade. So yeah, the boys were just going to stick her stuff to the ceiling, not Lily. (Of course, Remus only said they couldn't stick her to the ceiling tomorrow. He said nothing about the following day or any days after that…).

By the time dinner time rolled around the next day, the boys were ready. Remus had declined helping, instead heading down to dinner with Lily, Alice, and Marlene. So it was James, Sirius and Peter that were left in the Gryffindor common room. Lily had an unfortunate habit of leaving her things in her corner when she went down for dinner so it was really all too easy for the boys to get her things and stick them to the ceiling. It took James and Sirius (Peter left to get food) about 30 minutes to get everything stuck onto the ceiling (they may have gotten a little sidetracked). "Well, Sirius, we did good". James and Sirius stood back admiring their work before turning and heading down to the great hall for dinner. If they were lucky, Lily would never know it was them.

The next morning, James woke up to a slight headache. He opened his eyes and looked around, noticing that things were quite different from his bed in the boys dorms. "Sirius". He reached out and grabbed Sirius' arm (which was much closer than it should have been had then been in the dorms) and shook him awake. Sirius woke up slowly, like usual. When James got the impression that he was coherent enough, he asked Sirius what he saw. Sirius looked around and noted that their dorm had somehow turned into a bird's eye view of the common room. "So what does this mean Sirius?" Sirius thought for a bit before answering. "Well, the elves decided to remodel in the middle of the night." James went to respond, but was interrupted by a voice from below. "No, it means that someone snuck into your dorm in the middle of the night and stuck you to the ceiling of the common room." James and Sirius looked down to find Lily smugly looking up at them. Alice and Marlene were behind her, their faces a mixture of stifled laughter and panic.

They heard footsteps coming down from the dorms and then a very awkward pause. "Told you so." Remus walked over to where Lily, Alice and Marlene were standing and looked up with a very amused expression on his face. "Breakfast anyone?" Lily, Alice and Marlene readily agreed and walked over to the door. "Hey!" Sirius called out after them. "What about us? How are we supposed to get down?" Lily smiled. "Well, you could always wait for the spell to wear off. That should be in a couple of hours. Or maybe a couple of days." She grinned and followed Remus, Alice and Marlene out of the portrait hole, stopping when she was halfway out and poking her head back in. "Oh, and boys, thanks for the idea."

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 **And here is Chapter 11! I'm so sorry that this chapter took forever to write. It's summer break, I don't have a job (yet) so I should have gotten this done way earlier, but alas, I didn't. Anyways, I'm going to start on Chapter 12 and hopefully get that out before the end of summer, but who knows. Also, anyone get the joke reference in the last part of this chapter?**

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	13. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize… Same as the last 11 chapters.**

 **I would like to take a moment to thank all of you who have reviewed! You guys are the real mvps and really motivate us to continue writing and work on getting chapters done and posted faster. Also, it is amazing to hear how much you all love this fanfic! So, thank you all so much! Hugs and Kisses!**

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Ever since Lily had stuck James and Sirius to the ceiling of the common room, they had left her alone. "James and Sirius are terrified of you." Remus and Lily were currently in the library studying for their upcoming exams. Lily laughed. "I'm not sure why they'd be terrified of me. I'm not terrifying at all." Remus looked at Lily and went to respond. "No, Remus. I'm not terrifying. I may be smart, sly, and cunning, but under no circumstances am I terrifying."

"So what you're saying is that you should have been sorted into Slytherin and not Gryffindor."

"If I were sorted into Slytherin, then so would James and Sirius." Remus looked up from his notes confused. "You have to hand it to them. Their pranks are certainly cunning and they have to be sly to have them play out without getting caught. Although, they still manage to get caught because their pranks have James and Sirius written all over them." Remus considered this for a moment before nodding and returning to his notes.

"Have you thought of what classes you're going to add to your schedule next year?" Lily pulled out her class list for third year and handed it over to Remus. "All of the electives?" Lily looked up quickly from her notes and took her class list from Remus, scanning it. "No, I didn't request all of the electives. Just Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, Muggle Studies and Ancient Runes." She handed her class list back to Remus. "I thought Divination sounded like a waste of my time." Remus looked back over her list. "So basically you thought there wasn't enough logic or reasoning behind it for it to make any sense."

"Yeah, pretty much. Seemed like you just made up stuff as you went and hoped that you were either wrong or right depending on how horrible the stuff you made up was." Remus chuckled, shaking his head. "Why Muggle Studies?"

"Because I thought it would be interesting to look at it from the wizarding world's point of view." Remus just looked at her in disbelief. "While I see the logic behind your reasoning, it's just going to be more work. And besides, I thought you wanted to try out for the Quidditch team next year. If you take too many classes, you're not going to have time for practice or homework." Lily took her class list back. "That's only if I get on the team Remus. Lot's of kids are talking about trying out. Not to mention, they might not have the spot I want open."

"Lily, you and I both know that they are going to have spot open for chaser as Diggory is leaving this year as well as a keeper spot because Benjy is leaving. Also, the only other person I know who is thinking of trying out is Cynthia. Not to mention any second years who want to try out. Looking at this logically Lily, you're probably going to get put on the team. Frank's been practicing with you all year so he knows what you are capable of. That, and you know all of the plays that the team goes through and probably would be a better fit for the team. The only way you would not get on the team is if some first year got put on because they were an amazing super star and since that is so unlikely it will probably never happen, you're probably going to get on the team." Remus looked at Lily, exasperated and challenging her to tell him he was wrong.

Lily sighed. "Fine. I'll think about it, Remus." Remus did a happy little dance in his seat. " I said I'd think about it Remus. Doesn't mean I'm going to give up a class. What classes did you sign up for by the way?" Remus rummaged through his backpack, pulling out his class list and handing it to Lily. She took a moment to read it over as Remus went back to his notes. "You little hypocrite." Remus looked up from his notes, confused. "What?" Lily gave a small smirk. "Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, Muggle Studies, and Ancient Runes." She looked up at Remus who looked like he was considering ripping up his own class list. He gave a lunge for his list as Lily swiftly pulled it away. "You are in no position to lecture me about too many classes when you've selected to take every single elective." Lily had pushed her chair away from the table as Remus continued to struggle to get his class list back.

"Give it back Lily." Lily giggled, holding the list just out of his reach. "Only on one condition." Remus stopped trying to get his list back and looked at Lily. "What."

"You stop trying to tell me that I need to take out one of my electives." Remus glared at Lily. "Lily…"

"Nope! Say it Remus. You are not getting this paper back until you do." Remus' head dropped to the table and he muttered something under his breath. Lily leaned forward, cupping her ear with her free hand. "What was that? I didn't catch it Remus." Remus sighed and lifted his head slightly. "I won't try to get you to drop one of your electives." Lily smirked and handed him back his list.

Remus sat back and began rearranging the papers that got crumpled in his attempt to get his class list back. "You're evil, you know that right?" Lily smiled. "I know." Remus muttered something about 'Poor James' under his breath, resulting in Lily smacking him over the head with her stack of notes.

James and Sirius walked into the library to see Lily hitting Remus with a stack of papers. "This was a bad idea James. Very bad." James shook his head and walked over to them, Sirius pulling on his cloak. "We should leave James. She looks angry and an angry Lily is very scary." James continued walking towards them, determined. "James…" Sirius was pulling James' arm to no avail. He hid behind James as they came up to the table where Lily and Remus were.

Remus was rubbing his head where Lily had hit him, glaring at her as she rearranged her notes. He turned to James and Sirius as they walked up to the table. "Hey James. Sirius." Sirius nodded at Remus, standing slightly behind James and keeping a close eye on Lily. Remus sighed and looked at Lily, who was trying so hard to not laugh as she was putting her things away. "Lily isn't going to hurt you Sirius." Sirius stood up a little taller and brushed off his robes. "I'm not paranoid." Lily laughed as she picked up her stuff, walking by James and Sirius who jumped a little. "I'll see you later Remus."

Remus waved to Lily as she left the library and turned back to James and Sirius, who were sitting down at the table. "Since when have you been all chummy with Lily?" James was watching Lily's receding back with interest, probably to ensure she didn't throw a jinx or curse back at him. "Since forever. Now what do you two want. I'm kind of in the middle of reviewing for exams." James took his eyes of the door (Lily had long gone) and turned his attention to Remus. "We were wondering if you had gotten anywhere with that spell for the map?" Remus rummaged through his things, pulling out a slip of paper.

"It's all on here. Look it over to make sure I got all the information we will need. We'll have to practice it before we actually go through with it and do it." James looked over the paper and Sirius looked over James' shoulder at the paper, brushing his hair out of the way to get a better look. "Will you stop it with my hair Sirius." Sirius patted James hair, leaning back into his seat. "Sorry James. You're hair was getting in my way. It's really unruly. You should do something about that. I have some Slekeazy's you could borrow." Sirius smirked and chuckled as James groaned. Remus just shook his head and sighed.

It was later in the week and Lily was sitting by the fire in the common room, looking over her notes for the Charms exam they had in the morning. She was going through the incantations of the spells when someone walked up behind her and quietly said her name. "Lily." She shrieked and jumped up, brandishing her wand and pointing it at the person.

"Merlin's pants, James. You scared me." She picked up her notes, rearranging them and sat back down as James walked over to the couch. "Sorry. Didn't mean to." Lily resumed looking at her notes, but was distracted by James who kept fidgeting on the couch. "What do you need James." James looked down at his feet, shifting them around on the common room floor.

"I was wondering if you could help me go over some of the spells for the Charms exam tomorrow." _Oh._ Lily was taken back by his question. _I guess Marlene and Alice were right. Their extra schooling didn't give them an extra advantage._ She shifted in her chair so she was sitting up. "Sure."

The next few hours were spent going over the different spells, their incantations, and the wand work. When they finally finished working through all the spells, it was well past midnight and they were both exhausted and laughing. Maybe they should have taken it easy on the tickling charm, but it had somehow turned into this competition to see who could tickle the other the most. James and Lily were currently laying on the ground in front of the fireplace, clutching their sides, which were aching from laughing so much.

Once they had calmed down, they lay there for a bit, maybe to regain some energy or maybe to just relish in each other's presence. Lily wasn't sure if James could feel it, but she could feel a happy hum in her chest, right about where her heart is and she thought it was the best feeling in the world. _Maybe I should tell him about the bond._

"Hey Lily." Lily's reverie in her happiness was broken by James' voice. "Yeah." James sat up slightly, leaning back on his elbows. "Are we okay?" Lily looked at James confused and slightly panicking. James, noticing her face, tried to explain. "I mean, you were kinda angry at me for awhile there and no matter how often I tried to apologize or even talk to you, you'd just brush me off." Lily let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding and sat up, wrapping her arms around her legs.

"I was mad, but I got over it pretty quickly. I guess I just didn't know how to drop the act of being mad." She trailed off, looking over her knees at nothing in particular, before turning back to look at James, smiling. "But yeah, we're okay." James smiled back before standing up. The clock in the common room rang out once and both Lily and James looked at each other, shocked that it was so late.

"Wow. Didn't realize it was so late." Lily laughed from where she was sitting. "How could we have know. I'm shocked we didn't wake up the entire house with all of our laughing." Giggling, she went to stand and was jolted by a hand. Looking up, she saw James reaching his hand out to help her up. Shyly, she reached out and took it, letting him help her up. When she was up, she noticed that she and James were standing fairly close to each other, close enough that she could see the little flecks of brown and gold in his hazel eyes which were about level with her bright green ones. _When did he get so tall?_

They stood there for a second, awkwardly standing close and looking into each other's eyes. Realizing what she was doing, Lily quickly looked down, blushing and moved to pick up her stuff before heading over to the stairs to head to her dorm.

"Lily." She stopped shy of the first step and turned around to see James awkwardly standing in front of her, messing his hair up. "Uh, I just wanted to say thanks. For helping me with Charms." He looked up at her kind of embarrassed. Lily gave him a soft smile. "No problem." James seemed to relax and gave a soft smile back. "Well, goodnight Lily."

"Goodnight James." And with that, they both headed up to their respective dorms. Lily, grinning stupidly, her happiness radiating from her. James, smiling wider than seems possible. Both slept better than night than they had all year.

If the rest of them noticed a change between James and Lily, they didn't dare mention it. They were just glad that they could sit together at meals and in class again. Alice and Marlene tried to pry it out of Lily, who just said that it was futile for her to be mad over something that trivial. Remus, Sirius, and Peter had about the same amount of luck with James, although they quietly wished that Lily would go back to being mad at him. It was getting ridiculous the amount of times they would have to bring him out of a dazed state, one that he would usually go in whenever Lily was in the room. James would deny the fact that he ever did that, and Remus, Sirius, and Peter would just roll their eyes.

Alice and Marlene suspected that Lily probably really liked James, which was why she stopped being mad and no matter how much Lily argued with them, they wouldn't budge on their opinion.

It was almost time for the school year to end and they were all sitting at breakfast discussing their exams and trying to guess what grades they got. "I'm fairly certain that I got an E or even an A in Transfiguration. My goblet still had the shimmering of the birds feathers." Alice and Marlene couldn't help but roll their eyes at Lily's exclamation. "Please Lily. You probably got straight O's this year, just like Mr. Smarty Pants over there." Alice pointed at Remus who began to say how he was fairly certain he had gotten an E or A in Transfiguration as well. It was the boys turn to roll their eyes.

The banter continued throughout breakfast, only to be interrupted by the school owls delivering said grades. To no one's surprise, both Lily and Remus got O's in every class. James was right behind them with an E in Charms and O's in everything else. Sirius, somehow, got all O's except for Potion's where he got an E. Alice had gotten the same grades as James and Marlene the same as Sirius. Peter was happy to have gotten A's in all of his classes.

"See Lily, we told you." Lily stuck her tongue out at Alice and Marlene, but inside, she was flying. Sirius was giving both Remus and James a hard time. Remus because he had gotten straight O's and James because Lily had beat him in Charms.

Breakfast was almost over when Lily got another owl. She was confused as she had just sent off a letter to her parents this morning and was fairly certain that she wouldn't be getting a reply back till either later today or tomorrow. She untied the letter from the owl's leg and opened it. "Who's the letter from Lily?" She glanced through the small letter. "Dumbledore." The group all looked at each other wondering why on earth Lily was getting a letter from Dumbledore. "I'm supposed to go up to his office after breakfast." Sirius muttered something under his breath about how it was probably so Dumbledore could praise her about her grades to which Lily responded by sending a jinx his way, turning his hair red and gold.

Sirius was oblivious to the fact that his hair color had changed and looked around confused as Alice, Marlene, Remus, James, Peter, and Lily began to giggle. "What's so funny?" They all began to shake their heads, dismissing his question and trying, but failing to stifle their laughter. They were interrupted by Dumbledore, who was giving the end of the year announcements.

"A reminder to all students to have their things packed and ready by this afternoon so that it can be transported down to the train before you leave. And now, for the house points. I have a few last minute points to add for some recent actions. To Miss Lily Evans, 10 points for an outstanding hair-color changing jinx. To Mr. Sirius Black, 10 points for an excellent display of house pride." Sirius looked around bewildered and confused before realizing that his hair had been colored red and gold. He quickly began to pat his hair before turning to look at Lily who had an innocently smug look on her face. His eyes narrowed and Lily just smirked before twirling her wand in her hands.

In the end, Ravenclaw won with a total of 432 points. Gryffindor came in second with a total of 406 points. Slytherin in third with 387 points and Hufflepuff in last with 347 points.

"Gummy worms." Lily stood outside of Dumbledore's office, knowing why she had been called here, but not really sure what she was going to say. She hesitantly knocked and was immediately called in.

She walked into his office to find Dumbledore, McGonagall and Pomfrey sitting and talking with Mrs. Potter Euphemia. "Ah, Lily. Welcome. Please, have a seat." Lily went and sat down next to Mrs. Potter Euphemia who gave her a hug.

"I'm sure you're wondering why I've asked you to come to my office." Lily nodded, noting it was fairly strange to have Pomfrey, McGonagall and Mrs. Potter (she was never going to get used to calling her Euphemia) in the same room. "We wanted to check and see how much your bond with James has grown in the last year. So, if you don't mind, Madam Pomfrey will check and see." Lily nodded and Madam Pomfrey set to work, giving her a check-up first before looking at her soul. It was still a deep rich purple, but the gold specks had increased and seemed bigger.

"It seems to me Professors, Lily and Mrs. Potter, that the bond has grown based off what we see here with the golden specks." Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully as Pomfrey finished her examination. "Lily, perhaps it would be best to consult Rowena on how long you and James can stay apart from each other before feeling ill. Euphemia brought it up as a concern and has an interesting way to tackle the challenge." Lily nodded, making a mental note in her head.

"I've talked it over with your parents and they've agreed to the idea. We're going to "meet" each other for the first time this afternoon while we're waiting to pick you and James up from the train. When we're going to leave, I'll make the comment how it would be so nice to get together sometime this summer and we'll make plans to have you and your family over at our house sometime towards the middle of the summer. That way, we can see if distance between you two is harmful and if it is, you two can have some time in a closer proximity." Lily nodded, slightly relieved that Mrs. Potter already had a plan in place.

The rest of the meeting was going over what they knew about the bond and discussing if Lily was ready to tell James. She came to the decision that she would wait and see and make a decision after she had visited the Potters this summer.

"Thank you so much Mrs. Potter." Euphemia smiled and pulled Lily in for a hug. "It's nothing sweetheart and please, call me Euphemia. I'll see you in a couple of hours." She waved to Lily and smiled as she flooed home.

Lily thanked Madam Pomfrey and said goodbye to Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall before heading back to the Gryffindor Tower.

It wasn't till they were on the train that Alice and Marlene began to badger her as to why she was called to Dumbledore's office. "He just wanted to congratulate me on my grades and wanted to know what I planned to take for the next year." Alice and Marlene seemed to be satisfied with that answer and returned to the conversation they had been having with Sirius and James. Lily turned back to her book, before getting an idea.

"Hey James." The compartment went silent. "I just remembered that I saw your mom leaving Professor Dumbledore's office as I was heading in. She was saying something to him about how you were too much like your father. I'm not sure what that meant, but I figured you would want to know." She picked her book back up and began to read, smirking from behind her book as Sirius and Remus began to laugh at James pale, ghostly face.

James was still trying to regain his composure as the train pulled into the King's Cross station. He was absolutely terrified as what why his mom had been called in by Dumbledore, but he could only guess it wasn't anything good. Stepping onto the platform, he grabbed his luggage and began to look for his parents before locating them talking to another couple.

"James, dear!" His mom quickly pulled him in for a hug, a good sign in his opinion, before passing him off to his dad, who also hugged him. "James, I want you to meet Michael and Daniela Evans." James turned to face the couple his parents were talking to and shook their hands. "Pleased to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Evans." They both smiled warmly at him and Mrs. Evans commented on what a gentleman he was. Their small conversation was interrupted when they saw their daughter walking towards them.

"Lily!" _Lily?!_ James turned around to see her walking towards them, smiling wide. She quickly hugged her parents and was introduced to Mr. and Mrs. Potter. "Oh! Hello again! I was just telling James about how I saw you this morning as you were leaving Professor Dumbledore's office and you mentioned something about him begin just like his father." Bother Mr. and Mrs. Potter laughed at this (Mrs. Potter giving Lily a wink) as James face paled.

"James is indeed a miniature version of his father. Sometimes I feel as if I have two children instead of one." The parents continued to talk for a little while more before beginning to head out of the station.

"It was so great to meet you Michael and Daniela. We should try to do something this summer." Lily's parents heartily agreed. "Why don't you and your family come to our house sometime this summer? You all could stay for a little while."

"Oh! Are you sure? We wouldn't want to intrude." Mrs. Potter brushed their statement aside.

"Of course you should come. It would be great to get to talk with you some more about the Muggle world and I'm sure it would be fun for the kids as well." Lily's parents glanced at one another, as if having a silent conversation. "Well, then that would be wonderful."

"Great! I'll send you an owl later so we can plan out the details." They said goodbye to each other and parted ways. James wasn't sure what was going on, but something felt a little fishy to him. Or maybe it was the fact that he wasn't sure how much trouble he was going to be in once they got home. After all, parents didn't get called into Dumbledore's office for just any little reason.

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 **And here is Chapter 12! Thank you so much for reading and please leave a review!**

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